The Navy has seized about 189 kg of crystal methamphetamine (ice) and heroin from a local multi-day fishing trawler on the high seas south of Sri Lanka, and taken five people into custody.

Navy headquarters said the trawler, carrying 10 sacks of narcotics and the suspects, was brought to the Dikkowita Fisheries Harbour on the morning of 5 November.

The consignment was examined with the assistance of the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB). It was confirmed to contain about 132 kg and 26 g of ice packed in 100 parcels, and about 57 kg and 220 g of heroin packed in 52 parcels.

The gross street value of the consignment is believed to exceed Rs. 4.2 billion, the Navy said.

The narcotics and the trawler are to be handed over to the PNB for legal proceedings. The Navy has not named the five people taken into custody, and none has been charged in the information released so far.

Background

The Navy and the Coast Guard have been carrying out joint operations against drug smuggling at sea under the national mission titled “A Nation United”, which was launched in October 2025.

According to the Navy, including this latest detection, joint operations over the one-year period since the mission began have resulted in seizures of narcotics with an estimated gross street value of more than Rs. 114 billion. Operations during 2026 alone have accounted for seizures worth more than Rs. 73 billion, the Navy said.

Street value figures are estimates of what the drugs might fetch if sold on the street. They are not an indication of the amount the suspects paid for them or of the quantity that would have reached users.

In operations of this kind, the Navy normally hands seized drugs and suspects to the PNB, which investigates the case and refers it to the courts. Suspects in such cases are presumed innocent until a court rules otherwise.

What it means

Ice and heroin are both highly addictive drugs, and seizures of this size at sea remove large quantities from the supply that could otherwise reach communities across the country.

The figures released by the Navy suggest that sea routes south of the island remain a focus of enforcement. Readers who have information about drug trafficking can pass it to the police or the Navy.

The PNB’s investigation will determine what charges, if any, the five people face and whether further arrests follow.