Sri Lanka Customs has seized narcotics worth over Rs. 60.2 million concealed inside nine foreign postal parcels at the Central Mail Exchange in Colombo.
According to a statement issued by Sri Lanka Customs, the seized narcotics include Kush cannabis, hashish, ecstasy tablets and cocaine, with a total estimated street value of Rs. 60.265 million.
The parcels had arrived from Thailand, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States and were identified during routine inspections of incoming international mail over the past few months.
Customs officers had detained the suspicious parcels pending collection by their intended recipients. However, as the recipients failed to collect them within the stipulated period, the parcels were examined in the presence of officers from the Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB).
The examination was conducted by officers of the Narcotics Control Unit (NCU) and Postal Appraising Branch of Sri Lanka Customs, together with PNB officers.
According to Customs, the seized narcotics included 4,934 grams of Kush cannabis valued at Rs. 49.34 million, 1,035 grams of hashish valued at Rs. 10.35 million, 25 grams of ecstasy tablets valued at Rs. 375,000 and four grams of cocaine valued at Rs. 200,000.
Of the nine parcels, three had arrived from Thailand, while two each originated from Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Following preliminary investigations, Sri Lanka Customs handed over the seized narcotics to the Police Narcotic Bureau for further investigations and legal proceedings. (Newswire)