![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/heroine-colombo-telegraph1.jpg\" "\\"heroine")
<\/a><\/p>\nBy Colombo Telegraph –<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe military defeat of the LTTE in May, 2009, may have changed the dynamics of the drug trade in Asia. Since 1983, the LTTE was involved in bulk delivery of heroin and cannabis from producing areas in Asia to consuming countries. Mumbai was the key link in the LTTE drug trade. While Sri Lanka\u2019s coast remains highly vulnerable to transshipment of heroin moving from India, observers expect a dramatic reduction in drug-related activity in the region.\u201d the US embassy informed Washington.<\/p>\n A leaked US diplomatic cable details the narcotics control strategy in Sri Lanka. The Colombo Telegraph found the cable from WikiLeaks database.<\/p>\n Police note that the Ecstasy found in Colombo social venues in believed to imported from Thailand. Malaka Silva, is suspected of trafficking the drug \u201cecstasy\u201d in Colombo.<\/p><\/div>\n The cable was written on 17th November 2009 says \u201cThe GSL does not, as a matter of policy, encourage or facilitate the illicit production or distribution of any controlled substances or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions. A government commission established to investigate bribery and corruption charges against public officials that resumed operations in 2004 continued through 2009, although with little activity. There are unconfirmed reports of links between drug traffickers and individual corrupt officials. However, since late 2007, there have been no arrests of government officials on bribery or corruption charges related to drugs.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSri Lanka has a relatively small-scale drug problem. The Government of Sri Lanka remains committed to targeting drug traffickers and implementing nation- wide demand reduction programs since early 2005. The US government has fostered a strengthened relationship with Sri Lanka on counternarcotics issues by offering training for Sri Lanka Police. The Police Narcotics Bureau continued to cooperate closely with the Customs Services, the Department of Excise, and the Sri Lankan Police to curtail illicit drug supplies in and through the country as a result of these efforts, over the last 12 months GSL officials arrested 4,346 persons on charges of using or dealing heroin and 8,540 persons on cannabis charges. This represent an enormous drop from last year\u2019s 9,825 and 33,848 arrests respectively, most likely a result of the GSL\u2019s single-minded efforts to end the thirty-year war against the LTTE.\u201d the embassy further wrote.<\/p>\n The embassy wrote \u201cpolice note that the Ecstasy found in Colombo social venues in believed to imported from Thailand\u201d<\/p>\n Three months after the above mentioned cable, in 24nd<\/sup>February 2010, under the sub-heading \u201cSRI LANKA NABS DRUG TRAFFICKERS\u201d\u00a0 the US ambassador Patricia A. Butenis wrote that \u201c the recent arrest of narcotics traffickers and heroin seizures paint a disturbing picture. She further wrote \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.\u201d Read that story here; http:\/\/colombotelegraph.com\/2011\/09\/26\/wikileaks-mervin-silava-is-a-drug-kingpin-patron-chief\/<\/a><\/p>\n Last July Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne admitted in Parliament \u00a0that some politicians are involved in the illegal drug trade in the country. See the story here; http:\/\/www.lankanewspapers.com\/news\/2011\/7\/68765.html<\/a><\/p>\n Read the leaked cable for further details;<\/p>\n […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":1217,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,57,1,27],"tags":[6986,1309,1310,1161,1311,1312,1185,1313,1172],"class_list":["post-912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anti-corruption","category-law-and-order","category-news","category-wikileaks","tag-anti-corruption","tag-drug-trade-in-asia","tag-drug-traffickers-in-sri-lanka","tag-foreign-affairs","tag-international-narcotics-control-strategy","tag-mervin-silva-and-malaka-silva-drug-trafficking","tag-patricia-a-butenis","tag-prime-minister-d-m-jayaratne","tag-us-embassy-cables"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a>VZCZCXRO2382\r\nRR RUEHC RUEHSD\r\nDE RUEHLM #1077\/01 3310702\r\nZNR UUUUU ZZH\r\nR 270702Z NOV 09 CTG RUEHSD SVC 08710\r\nFM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO\r\nTO RUEHC\/SECSTATE WASHDC 0851\r\nINFO RUCPDOC\/USDOC WASHDC\r\nRUEHNE\/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 3533\r\nRUEHKA\/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 2107\r\nRUEHIL\/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 91\r\nUNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001077\r\n\r\nSENSITIVE\r\n\r\nSIPDIS\r\n\r\nSTATE FOR SCA\/INS\r\n\r\nE.O 12958: N\/A\r\nTAGS: SNAR<\/a> CE<\/a>\r\nSUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORT FOR\r\n2009\/2010, Sri Lanka\r\n\r\nREF: STATE 97228\r\n\r\nCOLOMBO 00001077 001.2 OF 003\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>1. Per reftel, below is the 2009\/10 International Narcotics Control\r\nStrategy Report for Sri Lanka. The INCSR for the Maldives will be\r\ntransmitted septel.\r\n\r\nSUMMARY --\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>2. Sri Lanka has a relatively small-scale drug problem. The\r\nGovernment of Sri Lanka (GSL) remains committed to targeting drug\r\ntraffickers and implementing nation-wide demand reduction programs.\r\nSince early 2005, the U.S. government has fostered a strengthened\r\nrelationship with Sri Lanka on counternarcotics issues by offering\r\ntraining for the Sri Lanka Police. Sri Lanka is a party to the 1988\r\nUN Drug Convention, ratifying key legislation in October, 2007.\r\n\r\nSTATUS OF COUNTRY --\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>3. Sri Lanka is not a significant producer of narcotics or precursor\r\nchemicals and plays a minor role as a transshipment route for heroin\r\nfrom India. GSL officials work to raise internal awareness of and\r\nvigilance against efforts by drug traffickers attempting to use Sri\r\nLanka as a transit point for illicit drug smuggling. Domestically,\r\nofficials are addressing a modest upsurge in domestic consumption,\r\nconsisting of heroin, cannabis, and to a lesser extent, Ecstasy.\r\n\r\nCOUNTRY ACTIONS AGAINST DRUGS IN 2009 --\r\nPOLICY INITIATIVES\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>4. The lead agency for counternarcotics efforts is the Police\r\nNarcotics Bureau (PNB), headquartered in the capital city of\r\nColombo. The GSL remains committed to ongoing efforts to curb\r\nillicit drug use and trafficking.\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>5. In the past year, the PNB recruited more officers, resulting in\r\nincreased investigations and interdictions, and deployed field\r\nofficers in strategic locations along the coastal belts where drug\r\ntrafficking is active. The PNB also conducted in-service\r\ncounternarcotics training for police outside of the\r\nconflict-affected north and east and drug awareness programs in\r\nschools on a regular basis. Over the past year, 22 drug prevention\r\nand enforcement officials from Sri Lanka participated in regional\r\ntraining opportunities.\r\n\r\nACCOMPLISHMENTS\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>6. The PNB and Excise Department worked closely to target cannabis\r\nproducers and dealers, resulting in several successful arrests. The\r\nPNB warmly welcomed and has been an active partner in taking full\r\nadvantage of U.S.-sponsored training for criminal investigative\r\ntechniques and management practices in the past.\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>7. Sri Lanka continued to work with the Colombo Plan Drug Advisory\r\nProgram, a regional organization, South Asian Association for\r\nRegional Cooperation (SAARC), and the United Nations Office of Drugs\r\nand Crime (UNODC) on regional narcotics issues. The SAARC Drug\r\nOffense Monitoring Desk (S India and Pakistan,\r\norigin countries for the majority of drugs in Sri Lanka.\r\n\r\nLAW ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>8. The PNB continued to cooperate closely with the Customs Service,\r\nthe Department of Excise, and the Sri Lankan Police to curtail\r\nillicit drug supplies in and through the country. As a result of\r\nthese efforts, over the last 12 months GSL officials arrested 4,346\r\npersons on charges of using or dealing heroin and 8,540 persons on\r\ncannabis charges. This represents an enormous drop from last year's\r\n9,825 and 33,848 arrests respectively, most likely a result of the\r\nGSL's single-minded effort to end the thirty-year war against the\r\nLTTE. Police seized a total of 30 kg of heroin and 55,244 kg of\r\ncannabis during this last reporting period. Arrests are done by the\r\nPolice Narcotics Bureau, local police, Terrorism Investigation\r\n\r\nCOLOMBO 00001077 002 OF 003\r\n\r\nDivision (TID), Criminal Investigation Division(CID), Customs,\r\nExcise Department, Forest Department, Prisons Department and the\r\nNavy.\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>9. Apart from its Colombo headquarters, the PNB has one sub-unit at\r\nthe Bandaranaike International Airport near Colombo, complete with\r\noperational personnel and a team of narcotics-detecting dogs. A\r\nNepalese national was arrested at the airport in January attempting\r\nto smuggle 1 1\/2 kilos of heroin from Thailand. In May a Pakistani\r\nman and three women were detected attempting to smuggle 284 packs of\r\nheroin concealed in condoms, which they had swallowed. In June, an\r\nIndian woman was detected attempting to smuggle in a large quantity\r\nof cocaine valued at Rs. 7 million.\r\n\r\nCORRUPTION\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>10. The GSL does not, as a matter of policy, encourage or facilitate\r\nthe illicit production or distribution of any controlled substances\r\nor the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions. A\r\ngovernment commission established to investigate bribery and\r\ncorruption charges against public officials that resumed operations\r\nin 2004 continued through 2009, although with little activity.\r\nThere are unconfirmed reports of links between drug traffickers and\r\nindividual corrupt officials. However, since late 2007, there have\r\nbeen no arrests of government officials on bribery or corruption\r\ncharges related to drugs.\r\n\r\nAGREEMENTS AND TREATIES\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>11. Sri Lanka is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention and the 1990\r\nSAARC Convention on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.\r\nOver the past year, Parliament passed amendments to the Convention\r\nAgainst Illicit Trafficking of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substancesotropic Substances. Sri\r\nLanka is a party to the UN Convention against Transnational\r\nOrganized Crime, and has signed, but not yet ratified, the Protocol\r\non Trafficking in Persons and the Protocol on Migrant Smuggling.\r\nSri Lanka is also a party to the UN Convention against Corruption.\r\nAn extradition treaty is in force between the U.S. and Sri Lanka. A\r\nU.S.-Sri Lanka extradition treaty has been in force since January\r\n12, 2001. The GSL also signed an agreement with the Russian\r\nFederation to cooperate more closely on extradition cases.\r\n\r\nCULTIVATION\/PRODUCTION\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>12. Some cannabis is cultivated and used locally, but there is\r\nlittle indication that it is exported. The majority of cannabis\r\ncultivation occurs in the southeast jungles of Sri Lanka. PNB and\r\nExcise Department officials work together to locate and eradicate\r\ncannabis crops. One clandestine laboratory making synthetic drugs\r\nwas raided in July 2008, but none since then.\r\n\r\nDRUG FLOW\/TRANSIT\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>13. The military defeat of the LTTE in May, 2009, may have changed\r\nthe dynamics of the drug trade in Asia. Since 1983, the LTTE was\r\ninvolved in bulk delivery of heroin and cannabis from producing\r\nareas in Asia to consuming countries. Mumbai was the key link in\r\nthe LTTE drug trade. While Sri Lanka's coast remains highly\r\nvulnerable to transshipment of heroin moving from India, observers\r\nexpect a dramatic reduction in drug-related activity in the region.\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>14. Police officials state that the international airport is a major\r\nentry point for the transshipment of illegal narcotics through Sri\r\nLanka. Police note that the Ecstasy found in Colombo social venues\r\nis believed to be imported from Thailand.\r\n\r\nDOMESTIC PROGRAMS\/DEMAND REDUCTION\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>15. The Police Narcotics Bureau, the National Dangerous Drugs\r\nControl Board (NDDCB) and the several NGOs are carrying out\r\nawareness and education programs at schools and for special\r\n\r\nCOLOMBO 00001077 003 OF 003\r\n\r\npopulations. The Sri Lanka Anti Narcotics Association is working on\r\nminimizing risk factors and is working on a platform of information\r\ntechnology for the empowerment of youth populations on employability\r\nand parenting though the internet, particularly for overseas workers\r\nand their families. The Presidential Unit on Alcohol, Tobacco and\r\nDrugs is using enforcement tactics with a tilt towards prohibition\r\nfor the eradication of drugs. The NDDCB regularly conducted\r\noutreach among employee groups, school children and teachers, and\r\ncommunity leaders.\r\n\r\nU.S. POLICY INITIATIVES AND PROGRAMS --\r\nPOLICY INITIATIVES\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>16. The USG remained committed to helping GSL officials develop\r\nincreased capacity and cooperation for counternarcotics issues. The\r\nUSG also continued its support of a regional counternarcotics\r\nprogram, including through the Colombo Plan, which conducts regional\r\nand country-specific training seminars, fostering communication and\r\ncooperation throughout Asia. Towards that end, the U.S. Coast Guard\r\nprovided residential training to Sri Lankan officers in the areas of\r\nInternational Crisis, Command and Control, as well as residential\r\ntraining in Seaport Security.\r\n\r\nROAD AHEAD\r\n\r\n\u00b6<\/a>17. The U.S. government will continue its commitment to aid the Sri\r\nLankan police in its transition to community-focused policing\r\ntechniques. This will be accomplished with additional assistance\r\nfor training. The U.S. also expects to continue its support of\r\nregional and country-specific training programs. The U.S. Drug\r\nEnforcement Administration attach based in New Delhi visited\r\nColombo in November 2009 to coordinate anti-drug trafficking\r\nactivities with the local police and the Embassy. The DEA attach\r\nalso met with the Interagency Law Enforcement Working Group at post.\r\n\r\nFOWLER<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"