Sri Lanka Navy seized over 168kg of Kerala cannabis and arrested three suspects in a special operation near Thondamanaru, Jaffna, on August 19.
The street value of the seized stock of Kerala cannabis is believed to be over 50 million Sri Lankan Rupees.
The smuggling of cannabis (Ganja) has significantly increased after the end of the war. In 2016, Tamil Net reported that the Sri Lankan military under Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the former ‘Defence Secretary’ of occupying Colombo, deployed narcotics as a tool of genocidal war against Eelam Tamils. It was largely the Mannar area, which functioned as the hub for drug smuggling during the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime. The transition to Jaffna has taken place during the rule of Maithiripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickramasinghe.
According to the Sri Lankan Navy press release, the three suspects apprehended during the operation in Thondamanaru are residents of Silawathura and Mamunei, from 21 to 28 years of age. The accused along with the stock of Kerala cannabis and the dinghy were handed over to the Kankasanthurai Police for onward legal action.
