COLOMBO, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Police Narcotics Bureau seized 103.9 kg of heroin worth 1.2 billion Rupees, an estimated 7.5 million U.S. dollars, in one of the department's biggest drug busts ever, local media reported Monday.
Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the raid.
The drugs were found hidden in a jeep in Kalubowila in capital Colombo and from a house in Battaramulla, in the outskirts of Colombo, police said.
Two cut and opened gas cylinders used for the transportation of the drugs, three mobile phones and two electronic scales used for weighing the drugs were also taken into custody.
The Sri Lankan government recently stated that the island country had become a transit point for major drug cartels as a consequence of the prolonged illicit activities of the Tamil Tiger rebels who were militarily defeated by government troops in May 2009.
The government has stated the geographical location of Sri Lanka unfortunately made the island a very efficient and strategically placed locality for major drug cartels to utilize as a transit destination during drug smuggling operations.
In 2016, Sri Lanka's Police Narcotics Bureau detected over 900 kg of cocaine from an Indian bound ship which was docked at the Colombo port. This haul was the largest cocaine seizure recorded in South Asia with an estimated value of 12 billion Rupees, an estimated 76 million U.S. dollars.
