Police Media Spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana stated that 25 Sri Lankans were arrested by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) for transporting narocotics on two raids which were conducted near the island of Minicoy.

During the first raid which was carried out on 05 March, 06 Sri Lankan nationals were arrested when the ICG inspected a fishing vessel that set sail from Chilaw.

It was also revealed that more than 200 kilograms of heroin were dumped in the sea during the raid.

The second raid which took place on 15 March, had the

The second raid was carried out by the Indian Coast Guard on March 15, when the attention of the ICG was drawn to three fishing vessels that had set sail from Tangalle of Sri Lanka.

From the three vessels, when inspecting the Ravihansi fishing trawler, 300 kilograms of heroin, five Russian-made AK-47 rifles and 1,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition were recovered, while 19 Sri Lankans were taken into custody.

Accordingly, 25 Sri Lankans were taken into ICG custody along with four fishing vessels on charges of trafficking heroin in international waters.

The Police Media Spokesman further stated that the Indian Coast Guard, the Indian Narcotics Bureau and the Sri Lanka Narcotics Bureau are working together to trace the roots of this drug trafficking network.

In addition, the assistance of the State Intelligence Service and the Interpol will be sought for this purpose.

Police Media Spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana further stated that it has been identified that large quantities of narcotics are being smuggled into the country by sea and that further investigations are being carried out to find out who are the masterminds of this international drug trafficking