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Message: <blockquote data-quote="netlife007" data-source="post: 19348262" data-attributes="member: 79514">SRI LANKA NABS DRUG TRAFFICKERS                               Date:2010 February 24, 04:28 (Wednesday)                    Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Valerie Fowler, Reasons 1.4 (B)  and (D).    1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Media is reporting and contacts confirm  that Sri Lankan Police and Customs officials have seized over  40 kilos of heroin in the past week in three different drug  busts.  On February 15, Customs officials reported they had  arrested two Pakistani nationals with 83 packets of heroin  weighing 720 grams and worth nearly USD 30,000 at Colombo's  international airport.  On February 18, Police in the Mannar  district in northwestern Sri Lanka seized 30.6 kilos of  heroin with an estimated street value of USD  870,000-$1,600,000.  And on February 19, a Maldivian and Sri  Lankan couple were arrested for possession of 9 kilos of  heroin.  Heroin use in Sri Lanka remains low, indicating Sri  Lanka remains a key transit hub for heroin trafficking in  South Asia.  END SUMMARY. 2. (SBU) The February 15 report that Sri Lankan Customs  officials had arrested two Pakistani nationals with 83  packets of heroin worth nearly USD 30,000 may demonstrate  ongoing regional cooperation in drug interdiction as Customs  may have been tipped off by Pakistani counterparts.  According to sources, the passports of the accused show  multiple previous entries and exits in Sri Lanka, suggesting  this may not be the first time the suspects had smuggled  drugs into the country.  They traveled via Qatar, since  officials more carefully scrutinize travelers arriving from  Pakistan than from the Gulf States.  The drug packets were  found hidden in the suspects' abdomen and rectum.    3. (SBU) The dramatic seizure of 30.6 kilos of heroin on  February 18 in the Mannar district in northwestern Sri Lanka  was the largest drugs seizure in the recent past.  The drugs  are estimated to have a street value of between USD 870,000  and 1,600,000.  Police believe the heroin crossed the Palk  Strait by boat into Sri Lanka from India.  Local contacts  confirm that the Mannar coast is an important transshipment  point for narcotics traffickers.  The interdicted van only  had a driver with a mobile phone with one Colombo-based  telephone number in it, although other suspects are reported  to have fled the scene.  Police are investigating further.  The sheer volume of the bust indicates the heroin is bound  for a "big time dealer" in the country before being forwarded  to other destinations, perhaps the Maldives or Europe.    4. (SBU) On Febuary 19, the Colombo Narcotics Bureau  apprehended two suspects - a Maldivian woman and her Sri  Lankan husband - for possession of 9 kilos of heroin.  While  the media is reporting the two have confessed, no further  information is currently available.  As noted in Reftel, drug  use in Sri Lanka remains low by global standards (with an  estimated 55,000 users), and the government generally works  well with regional and USG partners to control illegal  substances.  However, Sri Lanka remains a key transit hub for  heroin trafficking in South Asia. 5. (C) According to a former Sri Lankan security services  official, drug kingpins in Sri Lanka have political patrons  in the government, chief among them Dr. Mervyn Silva, a  Member of Parliament and the Minister of Labor.  His son,  Malika Silva, is suspected of trafficking the drug "ecstasy"  in Colombo nightclubs. 6. (SBU) COMMENT: The recent arrests of narcotics traffickers  and heroin seizures paint a disturbing picture.  The police  assessment that heroin trade is pre-dominantly carried out by  the Muslim community is troubling because of the illicit  network's destabilizing effects.  The February 18 arrest in  the Muslim-dominated northwestern region of a Muslim man from  an internally displaced persons' camp suggests the potential  for criminal exploitation of a vulnerable community.  BUTENIS .</blockquote>

Verification: Hath warak paha keeyada? (hatha wadikireema paha)

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