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The Halawatha coastal area has
become an international centre for drug trafficking, with large
consignments of drugs transported from India by troller boats to be sold
here and abroad, sources said. The boats are allegedly bringing in
drugs from Thuththukudiya in India and at present around fifteen boats are
operating in this area. The troller boats which are
currently being used for this illicit trade, is supposedly brought into
the country for the fisheries industry and is estimated to be worth around
Rs.40 lakhs, per boat, while its 40 ft length and 20 ft breadth allows it
to stay out at sea for at least one and a half months, sources said. The drugs are traded when these
boats, supposedly engaged in fishing, arrive in the vicinity of India's
Thuththukudiya coastal area, at which point the goods are transported upto
the troller by smaller boats According to sources, the drugs are
traded within the country with the help of an influential drug ring
comprising of senior police and government officials. On Sunday, over 5000 residents in
Halawatha protested against the business of drug trafficking in the area,
while the Catholic church and members of the Samurdhi programme, protested
outside the residences of those allegedly involved in the illicit trade.
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