The Sri Lanka Navy has seized a large consignment of smuggled pharmaceutical products and Kendu leaves during a coastal security operation off Alankuda in Puttalam, the service said on Thursday.
Personnel attached to Sri Lanka Naval Ship (SLNS) Vijaya, operating under the Northwestern Naval Command, intercepted a suspicious dinghy near Alankuda beach. A search of the vessel led to the recovery of more than 177 kilograms of Kendu leaves along with a large quantity of pharmaceutical products believed to have been smuggled into the country.
The haul included approximately 354,000 medicinal tablets, 7,673 packs of medicinal ointments and 118 bottles of liquid medicine, the Navy said.
The Navy added that it is suspected the smugglers abandoned the dinghy and its cargo after being unable to bring the contraband ashore due to heightened surveillance and continuous security operations in the area.
The seized Kendu leaves, pharmaceutical products and the dinghy have been handed over to the Kalpitiya Police for further investigations and legal action.
Kendu — dried leaves used in the manufacture of beedis — is a high-volume smuggled commodity along the northwestern coast. Pharmaceutical smuggling along the same coastline has previously been linked to onward routes connected to India.
Source: Newswire.
