Sri Lanka used as transit point in cocaine smuggling

COLOMBO, February21 2012: The Sri Lankan Police Narcotics Bureau believes that the island is used as a transit point for smuggling cocaine into countries around the world.According to the Police Narcotics Bureau, special drug detection teams have been deployed at the country’s Bandaranaike International Airport to nab drug smugglers. Cocaine is also being smuggled into the country, said authorities. The special drug team busted two foreigners attempting to smuggle more than LKRs 75 million worth of cocaine within the past two weeks. Last Thursday a haul of cocaine worth LKRs 45 million was found on a Filipino transit passenger travelling from Sao Paola, Brazil via Doha, Qatar. The young Filipino woman had 3.3 kilogrammes of cocaine on her, one of the biggest hauls of cocaine detection in the country in the recent past. In a similar pattern, on February 3, another young woman of Thai origin was also arrested while attempting to smuggle 1.7 kg of cocaine worth LKRs 20 million, packed in a Ferraro Roche chocolate pack. The cocaine wrapped in cellophane and then coated with chocolate had been wrapped in chocolate wrapping and sealed in the Ferraro Roche box. The box of concealed cocaine was packed along with infant food in her hand luggage. Acting on a tip-off the police arrested the 22-year-old woman while she passed the customs area in the airport. The woman who had travelled from Bangkok to Peru via Sri Lanka last week was on her way back to Bangkok via the same route when she was arrested. Both females had similar travel patterns and have visited Sri Lanka before. The Police Narcotics Bureau believes that the women are part of a major traffic ring and have been used by the same agents for the operations. Information has also revealed that Sri Lanka has been used as a transit point involving other countries including Brazil, Peru, Thailand and Nigeria.