A special search operation carried out by the Sri Lanka Navy, in coordination with the Police and other intelligence agencies, has led to the interception of a local multiday fishing trawler carrying a large consignment of drugs.

In addition, the navy also apprehended six suspects, off the southern coast of the island. The drugs were packed in boxes and packages ready for distribution, the Navy said.

The announcement said that the Navy “rendered assistance to the Excise Department and other Intelligence agencies” in making the detection.

Drugs in such large quantities are usually brought into Sri Lanka from India and Pakistan by “country boats” for transhipment to other countries in Europe and the West according to various international agencies including the United Nations.