The Police Special Task Force has arrested a 38-year-old man in a three-wheeler with 6 kilograms and 288 grams of crystal methamphetamine (Ice) worth more than Rs. 100 million, in a raid police say targeted the local network of two overseas drug bosses.
The arrest was made by the Special Operations Unit of the Gonahena STF detachment on the road opposite St. Andrew’s Avellino Church in Kadawatha on Thursday (19), based on a tip-off received earlier in the day. The suspect, a resident of Kandaliyaddapaluwa in Ganemulla, was found with the Ice consignment, an electronic scale used for weighing the drug, cash believed to be drug-trade earnings, and the three-wheeler used to move the stock.
Investigators say the man is “a key member operating the local drug network” of two large-scale traffickers known as “Podi Suresh” and “Sanka Sameera” — both described by police as organised crime figures currently hiding overseas and directing operations into Sri Lanka from abroad. The suspect and the seized narcotics have been handed over to the Police Narcotics Bureau for further investigation.
In a separate operation on the same day, the Central Crime Investigation Bureau arrested a 32-year-old man in Iranavila, Meetiyagoda, with 1.118 kilograms of Ice and 750 grams of heroin, NewsFirst reported.
The dual seizures follow a sustained series of mid-sized Ice busts across the western belt this month, including a 6kg heroin and Ice haul in Werahera on June 11, and earlier Kadawatha-area finds such as a 1.5kg arrest in May. Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala said this week that over 10 tonnes of narcotics have been seized under the “A Nation United” national anti-drug programme launched last October.
Sources: Suspect arrested while transporting over 6kg of ‘Ice’ in three-wheeler — Ada Derana, June 20; STF Arrests Suspect with Rs. 100 Million Worth of ICE in Drug Bust — NewsFirst, June 20.
