The vessel was brought to the Dikowita Harbour this morning (16), where the Police Narcotics Bureau carried out an inspection and confirmed that the seized substances were heroin.
According to the Deputy Minister, the estimated street value of the drug haul is close to Rs. 3 billion.
The multi-day fishing vessel was intercepted by the Sri Lanka Navy yesterday (15) in waters south of Devundara, during which six bags containing the drugs were taken into custody.
Five suspects who were on board the vessel were also detained by the Navy and later arrested by the Narcotics Bureau after the vessel arrived at Dikowita Harbour.
Meanwhile, authorities noted that the Navy had seized three other multi-day fishing vessels transporting drugs along the southern seaboard last week, bringing the total number of such vessels intercepted this year to seven.
