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Sri Lanka Navy Journal 94
Maritime Terrorism - When the transnational crimes are concerned maritime terrorism
takes the most important place among the other crimes. Maritime terrorism was prevalent
in the region and Indian waters since mid-1980, due to the absence of an effective maritime
safety mechanism. Cross-border terrorist networks are operating across the middle-East,
Central Asia, South Asia, and South East Asia. Among the few terrorist organizations which
have acquired maritime capabilities, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) stood as
the most effective group until their defeat.

Drug Trafficking - The 2014 ‘World Drug Report’ provides details pertaining to the regional
trend in drug use. The data pertaining to Asia suggest that consumption of illicit drugs is
at levels similar to or below the global average. Drugs can simply defeat a country without
waging a war. The damage caused by drugs to the younger generation is enormous and
irreversible.

At the same time during the civil war from 1983 to 2009, the influence of number of factors,
both inside and outside the country, helped to create an environment in Sri Lanka that
was highly conducive to drug trafficking. Those factors included poor border policing,
the internal instability engendered by the Tamil insurrection, and the closing off of the
traditional drug routes to Europe by the Afghan–Soviet (1979–1989) and Iran–Iraq (1980–
1988) wars.

The drug is smuggled into Sri Lanka for both domestic use and transshipment along the
route to Europe via Colombo and the Maldives. The two main entry methods used are via
fishing boats from southern India (specifically Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and
Kerala) across the Palk Strait to the west coast of Sri Lanka (Mannar, Kalpitiya, Negombo
and Mullaitivu) or through couriers on international flights from Dubai and Pakistan,
especially via Bandaranaike International Airport. Kerala is also known as the main transit
hub of drug trafficking in the Indian Ocean region. Mainly few types of drugs have been
exchanged through air and the waters of the Indian Ocean. Such as,

• Heroin
Heroin trafficked through Sri Lanka originates mainly in the ‘Golden Crescent’
area of Central and South Asia, and is often in the refined ‘brown sugar’ form. Smaller
quantities of heroin and opium from the Golden Triangle region of Southeast Asia may also
be involved. Between 2006 and 2012, heroin was the second most seized drug, by quantity,
in the country.

• Cannabis (ganja/kansa)
Cannabis (known locally as ‘ganja’ or ‘kansa’) is the only drug known by authorities
to be grown inside Sri Lanka, and it appears that it’s almost entirely produced for domestic
consumption. Official government figures on the quantity of drugs seized by law enforcement
agencies indicate a steady increase between 2006 and 2011, with a decline soon afterwards.
Between 2006 and 2012, cannabis (including hashish) was the most commonly seized drug
in Sri Lanka.