By Maheesha Mudugamuwa
The illegal drug trade has virtually taken over social media and the authorities are finding it hard to curb the menace.
Several raids have been carried out in recent times where parties organised using Facebook were found to have been hubs for drug dealing and consumption.
However, the authorities say many of these activities are going undetected as they do not have the required resources to detect and crackdown on such activities.
In the most recent incident, four suspects were arrested with cannabis in their possession at a party held with the participation of around 400 youths between the ages of 16-30 years, organised by a group of youths in Hatton via Facebook. The party was held at a reception hall in Hatton and was raided by officials of the Excise Department.
During the raid, officials had seized 5.9 g of Kerala cannabis (ganja), cocaine, a stock of narcotic pills, and several other unidentified drugs found abandoned at the premises. The suspects arrested are residents of Hatton, Rawanagoda, Piliyandala, Kandy, and Panadura.
A number of incidents related to parties organised through social media sites have been reported over the last few months.
In February, 85 youths were arrested for the possession of various narcotics at a party held at a hotel in Hingurakgoda. The party held at a hotel in Minneriya was reportedly organised using Facebook and over 200 youths from Galle, Matara, Colombo, Nuwara Eliya, and Kandy had attended. The Police had seized narcotics including Kerala ganja, opium, and various other illicit narcotic tablets, and the largest stock of narcotics were discovered in the possession of six women.
In April, 10 persons between the ages of 18 and 25 were arrested by the Police for the possession of narcotics at a party organised using Facebook which was held in a hotel in Tangalle. The Police recovered 10.8 g of cannabis at the party.
In June, the Special Task Force (STF) of the Police arrested 51 people who possessed narcotic drugs and pills at a party organised through Facebook held at a reception hall at Belihuloya, Balangoda.
The suspects were found to possess 160 mg of heroin, 300 mg of cocaine, 50 mg of crystal methamphetamine known as “ice”, 150 g of cannabis, and several other drugs.
An increasing trend
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Police Media Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara said the reason for the increasing number of social media-related incidents was mainly due to the negligence of the parents or guardians of the youths.
Most of these parties organised through social media sites are aimed at promoting illicit drugs/synthetic drugs among the youths, he added.
Most people are using synthetic drugs because they can’t afford heroine, he said, adding that since 2015, the number of pills seized by the Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB) has dramatically increased. In 2015, no such pills had been reportedly seized by the PNB. But in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 (until 11 September), the PNB had seized 1 kg, 110 g, 7 kg, and 23 kg of pills, respectively.
There is an increasing trend and the Police and other law enforcement authorities are continuously conducting raids, he added.
Despite the efforts of Sri Lanka’s law enforcement authorities, the frequent seizures of large heroin hauls are raising public concern on whether the country has become one of the pitstops on Asia’s heroin highway.
Geographical location a cause
According to Sri Lanka Customs, due to the geographical location of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean and it being a convenient transit port to the “Golden Triangle” and “Golden Crescent”, the drug mafia has focused on Sri Lanka. At present, the narcotic drugs are smuggled into the country not only for the addicts but also in transit to other countries linking Europe and Asia.
Sri Lanka is geographically situated between opium production and consumer states, and heroine reaches Sri Lanka via the southern heroin trafficking route originating in Afghanistan, where the overwhelming majority of global opium is produced.
According to the experts, Sri Lanka is not the only country complaining about Pakistan’s rising drug trafficking issue; India, China, Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi Arabia all have repeatedly voiced their concerns over the smuggling of illicit drugs – heroin, opium, and hashish – over their borders via Pakistan.
However, Pakistan isn’t producing these drugs, Afghanistan is. Pakistan and Iran simply serve as transit states to the rest of the world. Afghanistan is the focal point of this crescent, having long been a hub for poppy production. The country currently produces around 80% of the global supply of heroin. The Golden Triangle consisting of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meets most of the remaining demand, but mainly supplies Southeast Asia.
National Dangerous Drugs Control Board (NDDCB) Drug Prevention Education and Training Team Assistant Director Pradeep Koholanegedara said social media parties have become a huge problem.
“This is not being settled by the immediate demand reduction programme. Some club drugs come to Sri Lanka by various sources, and therefore, it is difficult to detect these sources without having a proper detection system,” he said.
He added that there were 552 substances in circulation and that Sri Lanka identified 42 of them. He also stated that education programmes had been initiated targeting every section of society.
“Pharmaceutical items are not controlled by drug kingpins. That is being operated by using internet courier services and other new technology. Gangsters are not responsible for dealing with drugs,” Koholanegedara added.
When The Sunday Morning contacted the National Medicine Regulatory Authority (NMRA), they said a number of steps had been taken over the past few years to control the unnecessary buying of several medicinal drugs popular among youngsters.
The illegal drug trade has virtually taken over social media and the authorities are finding it hard to curb the menace.
Several raids have been carried out in recent times where parties organised using Facebook were found to have been hubs for drug dealing and consumption.
However, the authorities say many of these activities are going undetected as they do not have the required resources to detect and crackdown on such activities.
In the most recent incident, four suspects were arrested with cannabis in their possession at a party held with the participation of around 400 youths between the ages of 16-30 years, organised by a group of youths in Hatton via Facebook. The party was held at a reception hall in Hatton and was raided by officials of the Excise Department.
During the raid, officials had seized 5.9 g of Kerala cannabis (ganja), cocaine, a stock of narcotic pills, and several other unidentified drugs found abandoned at the premises. The suspects arrested are residents of Hatton, Rawanagoda, Piliyandala, Kandy, and Panadura.
A number of incidents related to parties organised through social media sites have been reported over the last few months.
In February, 85 youths were arrested for the possession of various narcotics at a party held at a hotel in Hingurakgoda. The party held at a hotel in Minneriya was reportedly organised using Facebook and over 200 youths from Galle, Matara, Colombo, Nuwara Eliya, and Kandy had attended. The Police had seized narcotics including Kerala ganja, opium, and various other illicit narcotic tablets, and the largest stock of narcotics were discovered in the possession of six women.
In April, 10 persons between the ages of 18 and 25 were arrested by the Police for the possession of narcotics at a party organised using Facebook which was held in a hotel in Tangalle. The Police recovered 10.8 g of cannabis at the party.
In June, the Special Task Force (STF) of the Police arrested 51 people who possessed narcotic drugs and pills at a party organised through Facebook held at a reception hall at Belihuloya, Balangoda.
The suspects were found to possess 160 mg of heroin, 300 mg of cocaine, 50 mg of crystal methamphetamine known as “ice”, 150 g of cannabis, and several other drugs.
An increasing trend
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Police Media Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara said the reason for the increasing number of social media-related incidents was mainly due to the negligence of the parents or guardians of the youths.
Most of these parties organised through social media sites are aimed at promoting illicit drugs/synthetic drugs among the youths, he added.
Most people are using synthetic drugs because they can’t afford heroine, he said, adding that since 2015, the number of pills seized by the Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB) has dramatically increased. In 2015, no such pills had been reportedly seized by the PNB. But in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 (until 11 September), the PNB had seized 1 kg, 110 g, 7 kg, and 23 kg of pills, respectively.
There is an increasing trend and the Police and other law enforcement authorities are continuously conducting raids, he added.
Despite the efforts of Sri Lanka’s law enforcement authorities, the frequent seizures of large heroin hauls are raising public concern on whether the country has become one of the pitstops on Asia’s heroin highway.
Geographical location a cause
According to Sri Lanka Customs, due to the geographical location of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean and it being a convenient transit port to the “Golden Triangle” and “Golden Crescent”, the drug mafia has focused on Sri Lanka. At present, the narcotic drugs are smuggled into the country not only for the addicts but also in transit to other countries linking Europe and Asia.
Sri Lanka is geographically situated between opium production and consumer states, and heroine reaches Sri Lanka via the southern heroin trafficking route originating in Afghanistan, where the overwhelming majority of global opium is produced.
According to the experts, Sri Lanka is not the only country complaining about Pakistan’s rising drug trafficking issue; India, China, Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi Arabia all have repeatedly voiced their concerns over the smuggling of illicit drugs – heroin, opium, and hashish – over their borders via Pakistan.
However, Pakistan isn’t producing these drugs, Afghanistan is. Pakistan and Iran simply serve as transit states to the rest of the world. Afghanistan is the focal point of this crescent, having long been a hub for poppy production. The country currently produces around 80% of the global supply of heroin. The Golden Triangle consisting of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meets most of the remaining demand, but mainly supplies Southeast Asia.
National Dangerous Drugs Control Board (NDDCB) Drug Prevention Education and Training Team Assistant Director Pradeep Koholanegedara said social media parties have become a huge problem.
“This is not being settled by the immediate demand reduction programme. Some club drugs come to Sri Lanka by various sources, and therefore, it is difficult to detect these sources without having a proper detection system,” he said.
He added that there were 552 substances in circulation and that Sri Lanka identified 42 of them. He also stated that education programmes had been initiated targeting every section of society.
“Pharmaceutical items are not controlled by drug kingpins. That is being operated by using internet courier services and other new technology. Gangsters are not responsible for dealing with drugs,” Koholanegedara added.
When The Sunday Morning contacted the National Medicine Regulatory Authority (NMRA), they said a number of steps had been taken over the past few years to control the unnecessary buying of several medicinal drugs popular among youngsters.