KARACHI: The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) said it helped US and Sri Lankan authorities dismantle an Afghanistan-based drug trafficking network by sharing intelligence that led to the seizure of 671 kilogrammes of methamphetamine from Karachi and Colombo ports.
In a statement, the ANF said it provided information to the US and Sri Lankan authorities, who subsequently carried out a joint international operation against the network.
The development came a day after Sri Lankan police and the US embassy in Colombo announced the seizure of nearly half a tonne of crystal methamphetamine during a joint operation. The authorities had described the network as Pakistani and said two Pakistani nationals were arrested.
According to the US embassy, the seized narcotics were worth around $21 million and had been concealed in bath towels for smuggling to international markets through Sri Lanka.
The ANF said 200kg of methamphetamine was initially recovered from a container at Karachi Port following what it described as “actionable intelligence”. It added that the alleged mastermind of the network, identified as Ehsanullah, an Afghan national, was arrested.
Several local handlers allegedly linked to the network were also arrested, the ANF said.
Following an investigation, the agency said it shared “critical information” obtained from the alleged Afghan suspect with Sri Lankan authorities and the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The information subsequently led to the recovery of another 471kg of methamphetamine at Colombo Port, according to the ANF.
The agency said the DEA coordinated with Sri Lankan authorities to conduct a joint operation at the port, where the drugs were found concealed inside towels.
The ANF said the trafficking network had allegedly attempted to use Pakistan as a transit route to transport narcotics from Afghanistan to international markets.
“Pakistan remains both a transit and victim state for Afghan-origin drugs,” the agency said.
The ANF added that it had used intelligence-led methods to identify and disrupt the network and described the operation as evidence of its cooperation with international law-enforcement agencies.
The agency said its efforts to dismantle international drug trafficking organisations and arrest Afghan traffickers and their local facilitators had been acknowledged by Sri Lankan authorities and the US DEA.
