975 kg of Beedi leaves recovered by a Naval raid

The Navy recovered 975kg of Beedi leaves during a patrol carried out in the seas off Delft lighthouse on 14^th November 2019.

Accordingly, few suspicious parcels which were floating on the seas, had been spotted during a patrol carried out by the Northern Naval Command in the seas off the lighthouse at Delft island. Fifteen (15) parcels had been recovered there, and by search of the parcels this haul of Beedi leaves were found. It is suspected that the drug traffickers have escaped abandoning the haul Beedi leaves due to frequent naval patrol. The seized haul of Beedi leaves is due to be handed over to the Jaffna Customs for onward investigation.

Further, during past few days, Sri Lanka Navy in coordination with Sri Lanka Coast Guard apprehended Seven (07) Indians who had illegally entered into Sri Lankan territorial waters, to engage in trafficking Beedi leaves and forwarded them to the courts. Within this year, more than 53 tons of Beedi leaves have been recovered by the raids and patrols carried out by Navy in the seas and on the lands as well.

As a result of continuous naval operations, the smugglers find it difficult to sneak into the country and Navy will continue to tighten its grip in order to seize such activities.