• SL fishing trawler, 5 suspects approx., 344 kg of crystal meth, and 124 kg of cocaine nabbed

Sri Lanka’s persistent surveillance of the Indian Ocean paid off once again, following intelligence provided by the Sri Lanka Navy, enabling the Maldivian Coast Guard to intercept a Sri Lankan fishing trawler in their Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) with a haul of narcotics on Saturday (23).

The ‘latest catch’ comes days after the Sri Lanka Navy and local law enforcement intercepted two other Sri Lankan fishing vessels which were trafficking Heroin and Methamphetamine narcotics from the Makran coast of Iran-Pakistan to Sri Lanka.

Highly placed sources in the defence establishment told The Daily Morning that Sri Lanka had over the last few years beefed up its maritime domain awareness (MDA) capabilities and improved regional information sharing mechanism, to combat the regional maritime law enforcement challenges posed by traffickers, who are also known to move illegal arms. It is also learnt that the ‘smuggling season’ has kicked off with the change of weather in the Indian Ocean Region, after several months of rough seas, in the north western Indian Ocean and the Laddacives seas in the recent past, which had hindered trafficking efforts.

“This time, we have really hurt their operation, multiple intercepts, first from the Indian Coast Guard, then several from our Navy and Coast Guard, and now, a joint operation between the Maldives and us has netted this one. Hard work, persistent vigilance and collaboration pays off,” the senior official said.

According to the SLN, Naval intelligence had informed the Maldivian authorities their concerns about the suspected vessel, Sri Lankan multi-day fishing trawler ‘Ashen Putha’ (Reg. No. IMUL–A–0924–MTR) which entered Maldivian EEZ on Saturday. Approximately 344 kg of crystal methamphetamine and 124 kg of cocaine has been seized by Maldivian Coast Guard with the apprehension of five Sri Lankan suspects who made up the vessel’s crew.

“The suspects apprehended in this operation were identified as residents of Dondra and Trincomalee, aged between 21 and 37. The Navy Intelligence and the Maldivian Intelligence units are jointly investigating whether this narcotic consignment was destined for Sri Lanka or another country in the region,” the SLN said.