Haul includes 200kg seized at Karachi Port and 471kg recovered during a joint operation in Colombo
Drugs recovered by the Anti-Narcotics Force. PHOTO: EXPRESS
The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) said it had disrupted a transnational drug trafficking network involved in smuggling Afghan-origin drugs through Pakistan to international markets, resulting in the seizure of 671kg of methamphetamine in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
In a press release, the ANF said an operation based on actionable intelligence had led to the recovery of 200kg of methamphetamine, commonly known as Ice, from a container at Karachi Port. An Afghan national identified as Ehsan Ullah, whom the force described as the mastermind, was also arrested along with local handlers, it said.
The ANF said its investigators obtained critical information after questioning Ehsan Ullah and subsequently shared it with Sri Lankan authorities and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
On Wednesday, anti-narcotics agents from the United States and Sri Lanka seized almost half a tonne of crystal methamphetamine during a joint operation targeting a Pakistani drug network, police said.
The US embassy in Colombo said the narcotics, valued at $21 million and concealed in bath towels, were intended for international markets via Sri Lanka.
According to the ANF, the information it provided prompted the DEA to coordinate with relevant Sri Lankan authorities, resulting in a joint operation at Colombo Port.
The operation led to the recovery of another 471kg of methamphetamine, which had been concealed in towels, the ANF said.
Read: Pakistani drug network busted in Colombo
The force said the combined operations at Karachi and Colombo ports resulted in the seizure of 671kg of methamphetamine linked to the Afghanistan-based trafficking network.
The ANF said it had shared the intelligence with the DEA “to ensure timely coordinated action and prevent the international trafficking of the narcotics”.
It described Pakistan as “a victim state for Afghan-origin drugs” and said it worked closely with allied and partner agencies to conduct coordinated counter-narcotics operations in fulfilment of its international obligations.
The force said it had played a “pivotal role” in the operation by using intelligence-based strategies to identify the trafficking network.
The ANF said the operation demonstrated its “professional capabilities, commitment to combating narcotics trafficking, and its effective cooperation with international law enforcement agencies”.
The force also said its efforts to dismantle international drug trafficking organisations (DTOs) and apprehend Afghan drug traffickers and their local facilitators had been “formally acknowledged” by Sri Lankan authorities and the US DEA.
According to the ANF, the acknowledgement underscored its role in international counter-narcotics cooperation.
