Colombo, May 16 (PTI) Ten Pakistani nationals, who were arrested on charges of smuggling a large cache of drugs, have been sentenced to jail for 10 years each by a Sri Lankan court, the police said on Thursday.

The accused pleaded guilty when the case was taken up before the Colombo High Court on May 6, 2024, and were subsequently sentenced to 10 years in prison, the police said.

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In a joint raid conducted by the Police Narcotics Bureau and the Sri Lankan Navy on January 1, 2020, ten Pakistani nationals were apprehended in the possession of 581 kg and 34 grams of suspected drugs and 614 kg of Ice (Methamphetamine).

In September 2021, the government analyst reported to court on the kind of drugs the accused possessed when arrested.

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Police said measures are underway to repatriate the suspects to Pakistan where they will serve their sentence.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)