Tamil Nadu: Cocaine Worth Rs 360 Crore Seized From DMK Councillor; Plan Was To Smuggle It To Sri Lanka

The Naval police seized cocaine worth Rs 360 crore from a luxury car near Rameswaram.

The two occupants of the car -- current Keezhakarai Municipality Councillor, Sarbraz Nawaz and his brother Jainuddin, a former councillor were arrested. Both of them belong to the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

The drug was to be smuggled to Sri Lanka through a fishing boat.

State and central agencies are investigating as to whether the brothers are linked to international drug mafia.

The seizure is being seen as a significant breakthrough as Dr Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, the Sri Lankan Justice Minister had recently said that his country was becoming a centre for re-exportation of toxic drugs.

Last September, the Sri Lankan Navy had seized 600 kg of heroin from a boat that is believed to have started from Pakistan’s Makran coast.

After the arrest, local fishermen were worried that they would be increasingly targeted by the Sri Lankan Navy.