The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has asked Sri Lanka to set up a mechanism in the country to prosecute those caught trafficking drugs in the high seas, local media reported on Friday.

UNODC officials said though ships with narcotics were captured in the high seas, the offenders could not be punished as there was no Jurisdiction vested in any country to try them, local media outlet Dailymirror reported citing sources.

The captured narcotics were dumped in the sea and the offenders set free and the UN is concerned there is no deterrent effect.

Two officials, Alan Cole and Shanaka Jayasekara, met Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem on Thursday at his office and asked him to set up a system in Sri Lanka to try such offenders as in Seychelles where those involved in piracy in international waters are tried.

"Drug traffickers always repeat the offense and the drug trade is thriving, causing great harm to the people. But with regard to piracy there is a model system in operation where pirates are caught in the Indian Ocean and taken to Seychelles and prosecuted," they are reported to have said.

However, Minister Hakeem had replied that this involved a policy decision by the Sri Lankan government and also extensive consultation between relevant stake holders including the Department of Immigration and Emigration, the Attorney General's Department and Police Department.

Sri Lanka's government last month expressed fear that the island is becoming a transshipment hub for drugs after police records revealed 53,000 people had been arrested for drug offenses in 2013.

Arrests have increased in 2013 as a result of increased crackdowns, police said in a statement pointing out that most arrests were for possessing marijuana.

Police also noted that they had detained about 300 kg of hard drugs, which is a massive increase from just 15 kg detected in 2012.

"Such large quantities suggest that the drugs are not for internal consumption but to be shipped elsewhere," government spokesman and Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters.

Police have noted that in the first six months of 2012, over 19, 000 people suspected of drug possession were arrested.

Since 2012 special police teams have been deployed at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) to detect smuggling attempts.

Sri Lanka has also been used as a transit point involving other countries such as Brazil, Peru, Thailand and Nigeria. Endi

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)