Two foreign trawlers packed with over $33 million worth of heroin and crystal methamphetamine were seized in Sri Lanka's biggest-ever drugs bust at sea, a navy spokesman said on Thursday (5).
Troops found 400 kilogrammes (about 880 pounds) of heroin and 100 kilogrammes (about 220 pounds) of the drug "ice" on board the two vessels, spokesman Isuru Sooriyabandara said.
The street value of the seized narcotics was estimated by officials to be 6,000 million rupees ($33.5 million).
The vessels, as well as a Sri Lankan fishing boat, were Thursday escorted to a harbour near the capital Colombo.
Sixteen foreign crew and five Sri Lankan crewmen were detained for questioning, Sooriyabandara added. The nationalities of the foreigners were not disclosed by authorities.
"The two foreign vessels were trying to offload the drugs onto a Sri Lankan fishing boat," Sooriyabandara said.
The foreign vessels, which carried no registration, were intercepted in international waters some 1,100 kilometres (687 miles) from Sri Lanka's coast.
Sooriyabandara said investigators were checking GPS data on board the vessels to establish the route and the point of origin.
Authorities said initial investigations suggested the Iran-Pakistan coast was the point of origin.
In 2016, the navy arrested 10 Iranians, two Pakistanis and one each from India and Singapore for allegedly trying to smuggle 110 kilogrammes of heroin into the island nation via a trawler.
The country's previous largest drug haul was in December 2016 when police seized 800 kilogrammes of cocaine on a ship at Colombo's port from Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah port.
Six months earlier, authorities discovered 301 kilogrammes of cocaine inside a shipping container at Colombo.
Authorities believe the Indian Ocean island is also being used as a trafficking transit point.
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)