COLOMBO — Sri Lanka’s Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala has disclosed that two containers carrying chemicals suspected to be used in narcotics production reached the Colombo Port in December last year, following a tip-off from a U.S. narcotics agency.
While the initial laboratory tests conducted at the time failed to detect any drug-related substances, Customs cleared the shipments in January. However, a second round of examinations later confirmed that the containers did, in fact, contain precursor chemicals used in drug manufacturing.
Minister Wijepala said authorities are now investigating whether the discrepancy stemmed from a technical failure in the first testing process or from another cause.
“This raises serious questions about the reliability of initial examinations and the potential risks such lapses pose to national security,” he stated during a program aired on Swarnavahini television.
