Navy seizes 3,700 kilos of smuggled turmeric, apprehends 10 suspects

BY Norman Palihawadane

The Navy seized over 3,704 kilos of contraband dried turmeric during special operations conducted in coastal areas of South Bar and Irukkalampiddi and in seas south of Mannar on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The Navy also took into custody four suspects along with a dinghy as well as six Indian nationals and an Indian dhow used for the smuggling.

The Navy has been conducting regular operations to curb smuggling activities taking place via sea routes. In one of operations, the Inshore Patrol Craft P 261 and P233 attached to the Northwestern Naval Command intercepted a suspicious Indian dhow in Sri Lankan waters via the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and searched.

The search led to the detection of about 2,100 kilos of contraband dried turmeric in 60 sacks. Accordingly, the stock of dried turmeric along with the six Indian nationals aboard and the dinghy was taken into naval custody. It is suspected that the smugglers had planned to exchange dried turmeric brought by the Indian dhow to a local vessel mid sea to bring them ashore.

In a separate operation SLNS Gajaba of the North Central Naval Command, in the dark hours on 17th September in the lagoon area of South Bar, spotted a suspicious dinghy approaching the shore via South Bar lagoon. Following a search, the Navy seized around 866.2 kilos of dried turmeric in 20 sacks. In addition, the Navy also nabbed four suspects and took into custody the dinghy used to smuggle the consignment of tumeric.

In another operation carried out on Friday, a team of Marines attached to SLNS Gajaba in the North Central Naval Command seized a stock of dried turmeric in 22 sacks, immersed in Irukkampiddi lagoon. The consignment of turmeric weighed about 738.7 kilos with wet weight.

The Indian nationals along with the stock of dried turmeric and the Indian dhow, taken into custody in the seas south of Mannar, are to be handed over to the Sinnapadu Customs Prevention Office to institute legal action.

Meanwhile, the suspects arrested in South Bar were identified as residents of Mannar. The suspects were handed over to the Mannar Public Health Inspector to be quarantined. Another stock of dried turmeric and the dinghy held in these operations have been kept in naval custody until they are produced in court.