Kerala cannabis valued at over Rs. 33 million street value held by Navy in Kareinagar

A special search operation conducted by the Navy in the beach area of Pumattei on the Kareinagar Island, Jaffna in the dark hours of 27th September 2023 led to the seizure of a dinghy loaded with over 100kg (wet weight) of Kerala cannabis.

The Navy conducts regular search operations in the coastal and sea areas around the island, with a view to prevent the influx of drugs into the country. As an extension of these efforts, SLNS Elara belonging to the Northern Naval Command mounted a search operation at Pumattei beach in Kareinagar on 27th September. During this operation, naval personnel searched a dinghy at the beach on suspicion and recovered 03 sacks of Kerala cannabis from the dinghy. The 49 packages in those sacks contained Kerala cannabis weighing about 100kg and 85g (wet weight). Thus, the consignment of Kerala cannabis and the dinghy were taken into the naval custody.

Meanwhile, the gross street value of the consignment of Kerala cannabis is believed to be over Rs. 33 million.

The seized consignment of Kerala cannabis and the dinghy has been kept in the naval custody until they are handed over to authorities for onward legal action.