A court has granted approval to detain and question the six fishermen who were arrested with over 300 kilograms of heroin during a Sri Lanka Navy surveillance operation in the deep seas off Beruwala.
The order was issued when the suspects were produced before the court today (02), officials said.
The fishermen, along with the multi-day fishing trawler, were taken into custody by the Sri Lanka Navy acting on a foreign intelligence tip-off on April 01.
Preliminary investigations conducted by the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) revealed that 323 kilograms of heroin, packed into 298 parcels, were found aboard the vessel.
The seized stock is estimated to be worth over Rs. 6.2 billion, according to the Sri Lanka Navy.
Investigations have also revealed that the consignment was transferred to the boat in question from an Iranian vessel.
