Major arrested for drug trafficking :

Smugglers stifled

Sunday Crime by Jayampathy Jayasinghe

The heroin smuggling would have gone unabated for years without anyone having any inkling about how large quantities of the drug were smuggled to Colombo despite stringent security checks carried out by police and the security services.

However, the lid was blown off last week following the arrest of a Major in the army who masterminded the biggest heroin smuggling operation to Colombo in recent times. This year's biggest haul of heroin was detected in Pesali in Murunkan on June 15, 2006 which raised the eyebrows of bigwigs in the police and security forces.

Till then nobody in their wildest dreams would have dreamt that a high ranking officer in the calibre of a Major in the army would stoop to such a low level of becoming a drug trafficker in the first place. The biggest question looming in the minds of defence and police officials is whether the army officer has compromised national security.

Whether he acted alone in collusion with a terrorist outfit or whether more officials in the army were involved in heroin smuggling which has become a lucrative business and a money spinner. Or was it just an isolated incident where an officer was hellbent on making quick money when such opportunities exist? These are some of the vexing problems that the defence officials have to worry about. They will have to investigate the incident thoroughly and take remedial measures to weed out such officers from the army.

It all happened on June 13 when the Army Major who was attached to a unit (name withheld) at the army cantonment Panagoda received a message from an officer (rank withheld) at the Pesali army camp to report for duty at the Pesali camp immediately.

The message had stated that his presence was needed there to conduct an inquiry into a routine official matter. However it was an official message for him to get to Peasali without a hassle.

On the June 14 the Major left Panagoda early in the morning and arrived at Pesali in Murunkan area in the afternoon. He then reported to the Thaladi army camp and was provided with a motor cycle and a rider to attend to his work.

The smuggling operation was shrouded in secrecy, that only a few knew what went on. Thereafter the Major proceeded to Pesali immediately on the motor cycle and went into a temple when he was accosted by a person of dark complexion named Arumugam who promptly recognised him.

He was greeted as "Gamini Mahataya " and the Major too acknowledged him. The man then guided him to a house about 150 metres away from the temple.

At the house, a person of fair complexion handed him a bag containing 390 kilos of heroin with a street value of over Rs 50 million. He told the Major that he would be paid Rs 2 million if he delivers the bag of heroin to a person at Anuradhapura.

Soon after collecting the stuff he instructed the rider to take him back to the Pesali army camp. However on the way to the Pesali camp a strange thing happened. The motor cycle sustained a tyre puncture and they were stranded on the way to Pesali.

The Major then instructed the motor cycle rider to proceed to the Pesali camp and boarded a lorry that took him to the Pesali bus station. At the Pesali bus stand he boarded a Colombo bound bus which stopped at the road block and check point at the Murunkan Paranayamkulanm. The policemen at the check point had been instructed by the OIC Murunkan Police, Chief Inspector U.B. Seneviratne to keep an eye on passengers and the bags they carry owing to the present security situation.

The policemen's attention was drawn to a bag the Major was carrying with him. What made them suspicious was that he clung on to the bag so tightly, police said.

On searching the bag the policemen found several bags of the brown sugar variety of heroin neatly packed inside a travelling bag the army officer was carrying. The Major was taken into custody after charges against him was explained to him at the Murunkan Police station.

The suspect was later handed over to the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) Director, SSP Sugathadasa to be quizzed.

According to PNB's Director, SSP Sugathadasa this was the biggest haul of heroin detected this year. The Major while being quizzed had admitted that a fellow officer at Pesali army camp had introduced him to a Sinhalese person from Mt Lavinia who was behind the heroin smuggling racket.

The man apparently had disappeared following the arrest of the Major. Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) officials have arrested the two civilians from Pesali who handed over the heroin to the Major.

Meanwhile an officer attached to the army camp at Pesali camp is being grilled by the Narcotics officials in connection with the smuggling racket.

The army officer detected with the heroin has been remanded until investigations are completed. Between the years 2001-2005, 57,260 persons have been arrested for heroin related offences.