Navy recovers 90 kg of Kerala cannabis adrift off Kalpitiya
Sri Lanka Navy personnel recovered about 90 kg and 45 g of Kerala cannabis from three polythene sacks found drifting off Kappaladi, Kalpitiya, on 10 January 2025. The Navy valued the haul at over Rs 36 million and said smugglers had probably abandoned it because naval patrols stopped them landing it.
🇱🇰 Kappaladi, Kalpitiya · Sri Lanka
- Cannabis
- 90 kg
- Value (official estimate)
- LKR 36,000,000
Sri Lanka Navy personnel recovered about 90 kg and 45 g (wet weight) of Kerala
cannabis adrift in the sea area of Kappaladi, off Kalpitiya, on 10 January 2025.[1] An Inshore Patrol Craft detected three polythene sacks drifting in the area
and recovered them.[1] The sacks contained 30 parcels of Kerala cannabis.[1]
The operation was conducted by SLNS Vijaya of the Northwestern Naval Command,
which deployed inshore patrol craft.[2] The Navy said it suspected smugglers
had abandoned the consignment because constant naval operations stopped them
bringing it into the country.[2] It put the gross street value of the seized
cannabis at over Rs 36 million.[2] The stock was kept in naval custody until
it is produced for onward legal action.[2] The Navy said it keeps a
round-the-clock watch on the island’s coastal and sea areas to stop smuggling by
sea routes.[2]
Sources
- Kerala cannabis found adrift off Kalpitiya. The Island, 13 January 2025.
- Navy recovers Kerala cannabis worth over Rs. 36 Mn gross street value in northwestern waters. News.lk (Official Government News Portal of Sri Lanka), 12 January 2025.
Open questions the AI reported
- The Island dates the recovery to 10 January 2025; the Navy statement published on News.lk two days later says only that it happened recently.
- No arrests or suspects were reported and no court outcome is known; the Navy said the stock was held for onward legal action.
- The 90 kg 45 g figure is a wet weight given by the Navy; no dry weight is given.
- The sources do not say where the consignment was loaded or where it was bound.