The Sri Lanka Navy has seized approximately 150 kilograms of heroin with an estimated street value of around Rs. 4 billion from a multi-day fishing vessel intercepted in deep waters south of the island, Deputy Defence Minister Aruna Jayasekara confirmed on Friday.
Navy Media Spokesperson Commander Buddhika Sampath said the vessel was intercepted during a special operation carried out by long-range operational vessels. Officers discovered 150 packets of heroin concealed in six sacks aboard the boat.
Four suspects were taken into custody and the vessel was escorted to the Dikkowita Fisheries Harbour early Friday morning for further investigation. The navy said additional inquiries are under way now that the drug shipment has been brought ashore.
The seizure is one of the largest single narcotics hauls by the Sri Lanka Navy this year and follows a string of maritime drug interdictions in waters south of the island. The navy has stepped up deep-sea patrols as part of a broader anti-narcotics campaign, with over 520 drug-related arrests made during the Avurudu holiday period alone.
Sri Lanka sits along major Indian Ocean drug trafficking routes, with multi-day fishing vessels frequently used to transport heroin from production centres in South and South-West Asia to distribution networks across the region.
