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Tamil Nadu hub for Pak drug cartels supplying Sri Lanka, says report

Published

4 years ago

2022/12/27

Tamil Nadu has become a hub/paradise for Pakistan narcotic cartels to send drugs to Sri-Lanka, says a report published by One India yesterday.

The report filed from New Delhi said: The nabbing of Khader Mohideen and Ibrahim Saha, two international drug smugglers in Hyderabad has only shown the extent of the problem yet again.

While they were nabbed in Hyderabad, the police said that they are residents of Chennai and this once again puts the focus back on the drug menace which has been emanating from Sri Lanka. It has been found on multiple occasions that the drug cartel operating in Sri Lanka is controlled by Pakistan.In November, the Tamil Nadu coastal police arrested a DMK councillor and a former councillor of the same party for attempting to smuggle cocaine worth Rs 360 crore from the Ramanathapuram district. In this case, the investigations found that former DMK councillor, Jainuddin and current councillor of the 19th ward of Rameshwaram, Sarbaz Nawaz had intended to transport the cocaine to Sri Lanka.The above mentioned incidents are not surprising, because this racket has been on for a long time. In 2006, 18,600 Tamil refugees arrived in Rameshwaram Tamil Nadu. All of them were sent to special camps as the agencies doubted that they were linked to the LTTE. The probe also revealed that many of them were drug couriers. In the name of medicines and aid came the drugs, an official tells OneIndia.

These incidents were quite high when the LTTE existed. However since the fall there was a lull and today there is not a single day that passes by when an incident of drug smuggling on the Sri Lanka-Tamil Nadu route is not reported. There has been a spike in the smuggling of ephedrine and cocaine. There has also been a 26 per cent rise in the number of smuggling incidents concerning amphetamine. While these are some of the common drugs being smuggled on this route, there are also many incidents of heroin smuggling as well. The official cited above said that the drug cartels are also smuggling ketamine, pseudoephedrine, LSD and cannabis. TN has always been a transit point: With the civil war in Sri Lanka ending the drug cartels have gone up. While the demand for cocaine is higher in India, in the case of Sri Lanka it is heroin. The drug route has been a preferred one as the border is porous, an Intelligence Bureau official explains. The close proximity between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka is also another reason why the route has become a paradise for drug cartels.The international drug cartel has relied on the fishermen to be their couriers. These fishermen were also used by the LTTE who would source heroin from India and sell it in Sri Lanka. The proceeds were used to fund their activities. Following the fall of the LTTE the model has been replicated by the international drug cartels. The demand for heroin being very high in Sri Lanka has also led to these cartels using the Indian route to reach Sri Lanka. There have been several probes into these incidents. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had found that the drugs are produced in Afghanistan and then smuggled to Pakistan following which it is dropped off in Punjab. From Punjab the drugs are loaded into inter-state trucks and then supplied to the rest of the country. Most of the grade 3 drugs make their way into Ramanathapuram as it is the closest sea link to Sri Lanka.

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Italian Naval Vessel ‘ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi’ arrives in Colombo

Published

5 hours ago

2026/09/9

Priyan

The Italian Naval Vessel ‘ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi’ arrived in Sri Lanka today, 9 September 2026, on a replenishment visit.

The Sri Lanka Navy welcomed the visiting ship in accordance with naval traditions at the port of Colombo.

‘ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi’ is a 180m long Landing Helicopter Aircraft Vessel commanded by Captain Marco GUERRIERO.

During the ship’s stay in Sri Lanka, the Commanding Officer of ‘ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi’ is scheduled to call on the Commander Western Naval Area.

News

Bangladesh bank on bowlers in bid to bring India down

Published

9 hours ago

2026/09/9

Priyan

Bangladesh will look to curb Shafali Verma's aggression [cRICINFO]

If Bangladesh take the route of seeking inspiration from the past to bring down heavyweights India on Thursday, they will have to squint their eyes and go back to pre-Covid times for their last victory against them in the Women’s Asia Cup. India have had the better of their neighbours over their last eight meetings, and last lost to Bangladesh in a T20I three years ago, when a very similar-looking Indian batting line-up was kept to 102 for 9.

Before that, Bangladesh had shocked India with back-to-back wins that culminated in their maiden Asia Cup title, by again stifling India to an underwhelming 112 for 9.

The Bangladesh team of today – as their recent fights have shown over the last two World Cups – is a version far improved from the ones of 2018 and 2023. They have scared teams like Australia and England (ODI World Cup) and India (T20 World Cup) in the last 12 months and they recently beat the higher ranked Pakistan in the UK by keeping them to 100 for 8.

It is this bowling strength that Bangladesh must bank on to try and bring down India, whose batting has stuttered every now and then, including a collapse of 8 for 46 against Thailand earlier in the tournament. India have had middle-order issues for a while now – it’s one of the things that kept them from a knockout berth in the last T20 World Cup – and Bangladesh will be itching to strike while the iron is hot.

They have laid the foundations in the last 10 days by routing Indonesia for 58, making Sri Lanka sweat in a chase of 115, and suffocating UAE’s batters to 69 for 9 with semi-finals qualification on the line.

Pratika Rawal, India’s No. 3 for this tournament in place of the injured Jemimah Rodrigues, hasn’t quite shown the promise in this format that she has in ODIs. Her 36 runs in three innings have come at a strike rate of just 109.09, against some of the lower-ranked teams in the world. Now into the knockouts, the time is ripe for Rawal to step up against one of the stronger bowling attacks of the tournament, especially if one of the openers doesn’t get going.

Swing bowler Marufa Akter is doing Marufa Akter things at this Asia Cup. She has struck in her opening spell in each of her three games so far – including the big scalp of Chamari Athapathuthu for 1. She has made the ball talk with her prodigious swing, and is the top wicket-taker in this Asia Cup among pace bowlers, with an economy rate of 3.27. She will hold the key for Bangladesh as they come up against a top order comprising Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma and Rawal.

Team news

After constant chopping and changing during the T20 World Cup in the UK, India have gone unchanged in the three games of this tournament. They will be expected to field the same XI again.

India (probable): Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Richa Ghosh (wk), Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Prema Rawat, Kranti Gaud, N Shree Charani, Nandani Sharma.

Bangladesh have used 14 players, in comparison, including a debut for 17-year-old allrounder Farjana Easmin. They may not make too many changes this time as the two players who came into the XI on Tuesday – Rabeya Khan and Sharmin Akter – played starring roles in beating UAE.

Bangladesh (probable): Juairiya Ferdous, Nigar Sultana (capt & wk), Sobhana Mostary, Dilara Akter, Shorna Akter, Rabeya Khan, Sharmin Akter, Nahida Akter, Sultana Khatun, Marufa Akter, Fahima Khatun.

[Cricinfo]

News

Establishment of National Trade Negotiation Committee (NTFC) and Trade Policy Consultation Committee.

Published

11 hours ago

2026/09/9

Priyan

Approval has been granted at the cabinet meeting held on 24-08-2026 to implement the recommendations submitted by the committee appointed to review Sri Lanka’s current Free Trade Agreements and future course of Free Trade Agreements in Sri Lanka.

Taking into account these recommendations, it has been
recognized the necessity of establishing a National Trade Negotiation Committee and Trade Policy Consultation Committee enabling Sri Lanka to follow a more targeted, sequential, and evidence-based approach in conducting negotiations for Sri Lanka’s future Free Trade Agreements and to ensure a sustainable and meaningful stakeholder consultation process.

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Trade, Commercial, Food Security, and Cooperative Development to act as follows.

• Establishment of a National Trade Negotiation Committee to guide trade discussions conducted with potential bilateral or regional trade partners
• Appointment of the Secretary to the Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Food Security, and Cooperative Development as the Chairman of the National Trade Negotiation Committee and
the Chief National Trade Negotiator.
• Establishment of 12 subject specific sub- committees with the required technical working groups under the National Trade Negotiation Committee
• Appointment of Trade Policy Consultative Committee comprising of trade experts, researchers engaged in research relevant to trade field, business community, unions, civil societies and relevant public officers to instruct the National Trade Negotiation Committee on active and technical sectors, to submit the policy recommendations to the Cabinet of Ministers regarding the matters relevant to the trade agreements, to inquire sustainable ideas regarding the Free Trade Agreements, and to ensure the communication mechanism.
• The Minister in charge of the Subject international trade and the Minister in charge of the subject of Industry to serve as Co-Chairpersons of the Trade Policy Advisory Committee.