A suspected crystal methamphetamine (“Ice”) trafficker has been arrested by the Police Special Rapid Response Unit stationed in Kandakuliya, in the Puttalam district, police said.
The suspect was taken into custody after intelligence reached the Puttalam Police Special Rapid Response Unit. Officers recovered a stock of Ice valued at more than Rs. 100,000 from his possession.
In a striking illustration of local demand for the drug, police said the unit received 76 telephone calls from people attempting to buy Ice while the suspect was being held in custody.
A resident of Kandakuliya, the suspect is believed to be a major distributor who supplied crystal methamphetamine to several areas, including Kalpitiya, transporting the narcotics by motorcycle.
The arrest is the latest in a steady run of Ice-related seizures across the country. On Saturday, narcotics officers detained a woman in Wattala with more than a kilogram of the stimulant, as police intensify operations against a drug that has spread rapidly through coastal and northwestern communities in recent years.
