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Sri Lankan drug kingpin arrested in Pakistan

Xinhua, January 14, 2015 Adjust font size:

A wanted Sri Lankan drug dealer who fled the country has been arrested in Pakistan, police said on Wednesday.

The underworld kingpin Gampola Vidanalage Don Samantha Kumara aka "Wele Suda" has been arrested in Pakistan and deported to Sri Lanka, police spokesman Ajith Rohana told reporters.

"An Interpol Red Notice was issued last year on Wele Suda, one of the major drug traffickers in Sri Lanka. He was arrested in Pakistan and sent here," confirmed Rohana.

Sri Lanka Police Narcotics Bureau said the drug kingpin has lived in Peshawar in Pakistan.

The suspect has amassed a massive wealth from drug trafficking and fled the country with his wife last year as police attempted to arrest him.

Police later arrested his wife when she returned to Sri Lanka.

Last year, over 200 kg of heroine has been detected by law enforcement authorities in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka's government earlier 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. Endi