UK intervenes on behalf of Canadian held for heroin smuggling

Ongoing investigation into an abortive bid to smuggle in 36 kgs of heroin with a street value of Rs: 360 mn has taken an unexpected turn with British authorities claiming one of those who had been taken into custody following the detection was an undercover agent, working for them.

Police identified the suspect as one of the major heroin distributors in the country.

The Sri Lanka Customs made the detection during the first week of March this year.

A New Delhi based British diplomat and a high ranking official attached to the British High Commission recently made representations to Sri Lankan security and intelligence authorities regarding the arrest of a Canadian citizen of Sri Lankan origin.

The Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) arrested the Canadian passport holder on March 19. In a separate raid also on the same day, the PNB seized a 53-year-old Pakistani allegedly involved in the failed heroin smuggling bid.

The British High Commission declined to comment.

A senior government official said that as investigations had revealed the direct involvement of the Canadian passport holder in the smuggling attempt, the British explanation wasn’t acceptable. The British High Commission was yet to inform the Defence Ministry or the External Affairs Ministry of the arrest of an agent run by a New Delhi based diplomat. The Customs found 36 kgs of heroin in two unaccompanied boxes declared as hardware items. Having made the detection at the Orugodawatte warehouse, the Customs declared that the operation received the backing of the National Crime Agency in the UK.

The police are in the process of checking the Canadian passport holder’s background.

The police and intelligence services are on a heightened state of alert in the wake of a series of failed attempts to smuggle in large quantities of heroin from Pakistan to Sri Lanka, through legal ports of entry.

The main Opposition UNP recently moved a no-confidence motion in parliament accusing the SLFP-led UPFA of complicity as well as direct involvement in the narcotics trade.

by Shamindra Ferdinando

Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)