Sri Lanka Customs Seizes Drugs Worth Over Rs. 60 Million from Nine International Parcels

Sri Lanka Customs has seized a consignment of narcotics with an estimated street value of Rs. 60.265 million during an operation at the Colombo Central Mail Exchange.

The drugs, including kush cannabis, hashish, ecstasy tablets and cocaine, were discovered concealed in nine international postal parcels sent from Thailand, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, according to Sri Lanka Customs.

Customs officers attached to the Narcotics Control Unit (NCU) and the Central Mail Division identified the suspicious parcels while screening incoming international mail over the past several months.

The parcels were held until their intended recipients collected them. However, after the recipients failed to claim the packages within the stipulated period, officials arranged to open and inspect them in the presence of officers from the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB).

A joint team comprising officers from the Customs Narcotics Control Unit, the Central Mail Division and the Police Narcotics Bureau subsequently carried out detailed inspections of all nine parcels.

Investigators found that three parcels had originated in Thailand, two in Spain, two in the United Kingdom and two in the United States.

The seized substances included 4,934 grams of kush cannabis valued at an estimated Rs. 49.34 million, 1,035 grams of hashish valued at Rs. 10.35 million, 25 grams of ecstasy tablets valued at Rs. 375,000 and four grams of cocaine valued at Rs. 200,000.

The total estimated street value of the seized drugs was Rs. 60,265,000.

Following preliminary investigations at the Central Mail Exchange, Customs officials handed over the seized narcotics to the Police Narcotics Bureau for further investigations and legal proceedings.