Colombo, Nov 24 (NIA) – Sri Lanka’s custom officials, on Thursday, seized one of the biggest hauls of cocaine amounting to an estimated 13.8 million dollars, which had been smuggled in a sugar container from Brazil.
Customs Spokesman, Dharmasena Kahandawa told NIA that customs officials had seized 200 kilos of cocaine which has been hidden in eight sugar bags in a shipping container.
An investigation has been launched to inquire if the cocaine had been smuggled for the local market or whether it was to be smuggle elsewhere.
“The shipping container was enroute to Portugal. So the Police Narcotics Bureau has launched an investigation,” Kahandawa said.
The seized cocaine has been handed over to the Police Narcotics Bureau for further investigation.
Customs officials have beefed up their examinations on sugar containers arriving from Brazil after a large haul of cocaine was seized in June.
The haul weighed more than 90 kilos and was stealthily concealed in several travelling bags inside a container of sugar.
The container had arrived from Brazil.
Sri Lankan authorities are trying to probe if Colombo is being used as a transit center to smuggle drugs.
ADVERTISEMENT