A driver of a luxury bus with 18 kgs of ICE drugs (Crystal methamphetamine) was arrested in Kosgoda this morning during a raid conducted by the Colombo Crimes Division, said the Police Spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana.
He said it was revealed that, the 27-year-old driver had distributed the drugs to local dealers while driving the bus which was heading to Colombo from Galle.
The drug network in question is operated by a man under the alias ‘Latty’, an associate of the drug kingpin ‘Angoda Lokka’ who recently died while in India.
Further investigations are being conducted.
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Suspect arrested with 18 kgs of ICE
Camelia Nathaniel
The Colombo Crimes Division had conducted a special anti-narcotics operation at Hegalle in the Kosgoda Police area around 5.30 this morning and arrested a suspect along with 18 parcels of ICE. According to the detecting officers, the parcels contain approximately 18kgs of ICE with a street value of around Rs. 180 million and a bus has also been seized, Police Spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana said.
The operation had been conducted on the directives of the CCD Director SSP Janath Nandana and ASP Niven de Silva by a team of police officers led by CCD – OIC Anslem de Silva, IP Nishantha and several others.
The team of CCD officers had conducted the raid based on information received regarding this operation.
“Investigations have revealed that the suspect had driven the bus from Galle to Colombo and while he was driving the bus he had been distributing drugs to local dealers. The suspect is a 29-year-old resident of Homagama. He was the driver of the bus and he had attempted to flee, but the Police officers had apprehended him and taken him into custody. Upon inspection of the bus, the police had found the 18 parcels which contained the drugs,” he said.
The bus used for the transport of the drugs had been obtained on rent by a certain group under the driver’s name for a period of one month at a cost of Rs. 700,000. “They had also told the owner of the bus that the bus would be purchased outright in a month. Further the driver had been instructed to travel to a certain location in Hikkaduwa and Seenigama on Thursday and he had been later instructed to go to Kosgoda where he had been handed over the drugs. He was arrested by the CCD while on his way to Colombo with the stock of drugs. The drug dealers are now devising various devious ways to conduct these drug operations,” DIG Ajith Rohana said.
The CCD is seeking to obtain permission from courts to detain the suspect for a period of seven days in Police custody in terms of the provisions of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance for further investigations. It has been further revealed that this drug trafficking operation had been conducted by a person called ‘Latty’, (Real Name- Herath Mudiyanselage Asanka Kumara Herath) a follower of ‘Angoda Lokka’ who was killed in India a few months ago. He is also a suspect in the killing of five persons including two prison officers in Kalutara in February 2017, including the infamous underworld criminal ‘Samayang’, the DIG said.
It is suspected that Latty has also fled the country and is in hiding in India. Further investigations are underway and it is suspected that a drug network is in operations and these suspects are a part of it.
Meanwhile, DIG Ajith Rohana said that from January 01, 2020 to December 31st 2020, the police had taken into custody 1610kg of heroin, 6302kg of Cannabis and 808kg of ICE. The police had also arrested 63,500 suspects connected to the drug operations during last year. So far this year almost 700 suspects have been arrested during drug operations. He also noted that the police had taken into custody 151kg of ICE so far this year.
The arrested suspect was produced before the Balapitiya Magistrate’s Court and detained for a period of seven days for interrogation.
The Police Spokesman also said that during last year the police had arrested around 13 main suspects involved in the drug trade.
