{"id":287,"date":"2011-09-26T12:49:21","date_gmt":"2011-09-26T12:49:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/colombotelegraph.com\/?p=287"},"modified":"2012-03-21T15:04:21","modified_gmt":"2012-03-21T15:04:21","slug":"wikileaks-mervin-silava-is-a-drug-kingpin-patron-chief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wikileaks-mervin-silava-is-a-drug-kingpin-patron-chief\/","title":{"rendered":"WikiLeaks: Mervin Silava Is A Drug Kingpin Patron Chief"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Colombo Telegraph<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_293\" style=\"width: 363px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/malakabday5gossiplanka2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-293\" class=\"size-full wp-image-293\" title=\"malakaBday5gossiplanka\" src=\"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/malakabday5gossiplanka2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"353\" height=\"215\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/malakabday5gossiplanka2.jpg 353w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/malakabday5gossiplanka2-300x182.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 353px) 100vw, 353px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-293\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">kingpin patron chief and the son<\/p><\/div>\n<p>A leaked US embassy cable reviled \u201cdrug kingpins in Sri Lanka have political patrons in the government\u201d. \u00a0\u201cChief among them Dr. Mervin Silva, a Member of Parliament and the Minister of Labor\u201d the cable further said. The Colombo Telegraph found the cable from the Wikileaks database.<\/p>\n<p>The remarks by Washington\u2019s embassy to Sri Lanka, are revealed by the Wikileaks leaked cable. The cable was classified as \u201c CONFIDENTIAL\u201d by ambassador Patricia A. Butenis.<\/p>\n<p>In the cable, written on\u00a0February 2010, under the sub-heading \u201cSRI LANKA NABS DRUG TRAFFICKERS\u201d\u00a0 the ambassador wrote that \u201c the recent arrest of narcotics traffickers and heroin seizures paint a disturbing picture. The police assessment that heroin trade is pre-dominatly carried out by the Muslim<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_290\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/malaka_silva_j.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-290\" class=\"size-full wp-image-290\" title=\"Malaka_Silva_J\" src=\"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/malaka_silva_j.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"317\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/malaka_silva_j.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/malaka_silva_j-283x300.jpg 283w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-290\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">suspected of trafficking the drug \u201cecstasy\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n<p>community is troubling because of illicit network\u2019s destabilizing effects. The February 18 arrest in the Muslim \u2013 dominated northwestern region of a Muslim man from an internally displaced persons\u2019 camp suggests the potential for criminal exploitation of a vulnerable community.<\/p>\n<p>The cable further says \u00a0\u201c according to a former Sri Lankan security services official, drug kingpins in Sri Lanka have political patrons in the government, chief among them Dr. Mervin Silva, a Member of Parliament and the Minister of Labor. His son, Malaka Silva, is suspected of trafficking the drug \u201cecstasy\u201d in Colombo.<\/p>\n<p>Read the full cable below;<\/p>\n<pre>C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 000134\r\n\r\nSENSITIVE\r\nSIPDIS\r\n\r\nSTATE FOR INL AND SCA\/INSB\r\n\r\nE.O. 12958: DECL: 02\/23\/2020\r\nTAGS: <a href=\"http:\/\/wikileaks.org\/tag\/APER_0.html\">APER<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/wikileaks.org\/tag\/AORC_0.html\">AORC<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/wikileaks.org\/tag\/ECON_0.html\">ECON<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/wikileaks.org\/tag\/KUNR_0.html\">KUNR<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/wikileaks.org\/tag\/UN_0.html\">UN<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/wikileaks.org\/tag\/CE_0.html\">CE<\/a>\r\nSUBJECT: SRI LANKA NABS DRUG TRAFFICKERS\r\n\r\nREF: 09 COLOMBO 1077\r\n\r\nClassified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Valerie Fowler, Reasons 1.4 (B)\r\nand (D).\r\n\r\n<a id=\"par1\" href=\"http:\/\/wikileaks.org\/cable\/2010\/02\/10COLOMBO134.html#par1\">\u00b6<\/a>1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Media is reporting and contacts confirm\r\nthat Sri Lankan Police and Customs officials have seized over\r\n40 kilos of heroin in the past week in three different drug\r\nbusts.  On February 15, Customs officials reported they had\r\narrested two Pakistani nationals with 83 packets of heroin\r\nweighing 720 grams and worth nearly USD 30,000 at Colombo's\r\ninternational airport.  On February 18, Police in the Mannar\r\ndistrict in northwestern Sri Lanka seized 30.6 kilos of\r\nheroin with an estimated street value of USD\r\n870,000-$1,600,000.  And on February 19, a Maldivian and Sri\r\nLankan couple were arrested for possession of 9 kilos of\r\nheroin.  Heroin use in Sri Lanka remains low, indicating Sri\r\nLanka remains a key transit hub for heroin trafficking in\r\nSouth Asia.  END SUMMARY.\r\n\r\n<a id=\"par2\" href=\"http:\/\/wikileaks.org\/cable\/2010\/02\/10COLOMBO134.html#par2\">\u00b6<\/a>2. (SBU) The February 15 report that Sri Lankan Customs\r\nofficials had arrested two Pakistani nationals with 83\r\npackets of heroin worth nearly USD 30,000 may demonstrate\r\nongoing regional cooperation in drug interdiction as Customs\r\nmay have been tipped off by Pakistani counterparts.\r\nAccording to sources, the passports of the accused show\r\nmultiple previous entries and exits in Sri Lanka, suggesting\r\nthis may not be the first time the suspects had smuggled\r\ndrugs into the country.  They traveled via Qatar, since\r\nofficials more carefully scrutinize travelers arriving from\r\nPakistan than from the Gulf States.  The drug packets were\r\nfound hidden in the suspects' abdomen and rectum.\r\n\r\n<a id=\"par3\" href=\"http:\/\/wikileaks.org\/cable\/2010\/02\/10COLOMBO134.html#par3\">\u00b6<\/a>3. (SBU) The dramatic seizure of 30.6 kilos of heroin on\r\nFebruary 18 in the Mannar district in northwestern Sri Lanka\r\nwas the largest drugs seizure in the recent past.  The drugs\r\nare estimated to have a street value of between USD 870,000\r\nand 1,600,000.  Police believe the heroin crossed the Palk\r\nStrait by boat into Sri Lanka from India.  Local contacts\r\nconfirm that the Mannar coast is an important transshipment\r\npoint for narcotics traffickers.  The interdicted van only\r\nhad a driver with a mobile phone with one Colombo-based\r\ntelephone number in it, although other suspects are reported\r\nto have fled the scene.  Police are investigating further.\r\nThe sheer volume of the bust indicates the heroin is bound\r\nfor a \"big time dealer\" in the country before being forwarded\r\nto other destinations, perhaps the Maldives or Europe.\r\n\r\n<a id=\"par4\" href=\"http:\/\/wikileaks.org\/cable\/2010\/02\/10COLOMBO134.html#par4\">\u00b6<\/a>4. (SBU) On Febuary 19, the Colombo Narcotics Bureau\r\napprehended two suspects - a Maldivian woman and her Sri\r\nLankan husband - for possession of 9 kilos of heroin.  While\r\nthe media is reporting the two have confessed, no further\r\ninformation is currently available.  As noted in Reftel, drug\r\nuse in Sri Lanka remains low by global standards (with an\r\nestimated 55,000 users), and the government generally works\r\nwell with regional and USG partners to control illegal\r\nsubstances.  However, Sri Lanka remains a key transit hub for\r\nheroin trafficking in South Asia.\r\n\r\n<a id=\"par5\" href=\"http:\/\/wikileaks.org\/cable\/2010\/02\/10COLOMBO134.html#par5\">\u00b6<\/a>5. (C) According to a former Sri Lankan security services\r\nofficial, drug kingpins in Sri Lanka have political patrons\r\nin the government, chief among them Dr. Mervyn Silva, a\r\nMember of Parliament and the Minister of Labor.  His son,\r\nMalika Silva, is suspected of trafficking the drug \"ecstasy\"\r\nin Colombo nightclubs.\r\n\r\n<a id=\"par6\" href=\"http:\/\/wikileaks.org\/cable\/2010\/02\/10COLOMBO134.html#par6\">\u00b6<\/a>6. (SBU) COMMENT: The recent arrests of narcotics traffickers\r\nand heroin seizures paint a disturbing picture.  The police\r\nassessment that heroin trade is pre-dominantly carried out by\r\nthe Muslim community is troubling because of the illicit\r\nnetwork's destabilizing effects.  The February 18 arrest in\r\nthe Muslim-dominated northwestern region of a Muslim man from\r\nan internally displaced persons' camp suggests the potential\r\nfor criminal exploitation of a vulnerable community.\r\nBUTENIS<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,53,57,1,27,2223],"tags":[1187,1188,1189,1190,1132],"class_list":["post-287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anti-corruption","category-global-politics","category-law-and-order","category-news","category-wikileaks","category-wikileaks-latest-popular","tag-malaka-silva","tag-member-of-parliament","tag-mervin-silva","tag-narcotics-traffickers","tag-sri-lanka"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - 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