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 opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) slammed the state government for its negligence and said that this is one more example of the DMK’s poor administration.

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.