NewsInternational cocaine smugglers are increasingly turning to Sri Lankan as a transit hub in Asia, authorities say, after they made a series of seizures of the drug, some smuggled in containers of sugar from Brazil, REUTERS reported. Sri Lankan customs have seized six shipments of high-purity South American cocaine in 14 months, including Asia’s largest-ever haul of the drug in December, at its main port. “Sri Lanka is a transit point for mass-scale drug dealers,” Minister of Law and Order Sagala Ratnayaka told Reuters. He cited Sri Lanka’s location at the center of Asia, but declined to speculate on where the drugs were heading, while adding that it would be “unfair” to label Sri Lanka Asia’s new cocaine hub. “Sri Lanka does not have a market for cocaine,” he said, adding the final destination of the drugs could be Europe.

Source: Sunday Times September 01, 2017 08:26 UTC