Troops of the army’s 55 Division, under the Security Forces headquarters in Jaffna, searched the Chundikulam Forest Reserve on the evening of Sunday 5 May 2019 after a tip-off and recovered a large haul of Kerala cannabis hidden in parcels.[1]

The parcels held nearly 140.8 kg of cannabis, which the army said was suspected to have been smuggled into the island from India by drug dealers or peddlers.[1][2] The search was carried out on the instructions of the division’s commanding general, under the guidance of the Jaffna security forces commander.[1]

The troops informed the Special Task Force and Palai Police of the find and handed the haul to the police, along with one person who had behaved suspiciously inside the forest reserve.[1][2] No arrests or charges beyond that handover were reported.[1]