Sri Lanka's navy seized $65 million worth of crystal methamphetamine and ketamine on Wednesday in the country's biggest drugs bust, officials said.
Acting on a tip-off, authorities raided a flagless vessel in the country's southern waters and arrested nine Pakistani men suspected of smuggling the drugs.
Navy personnel, wearing special protective clothing in case the suspects had COVID-19, found 605 kilogrammes of crystal meth, also known as ice, and 579 kilogrammes of ketamine, said Navy Commander Piyal de Silva.
"This is the first time we have found ketamine and it is likely that the smugglers were trying to take this cargo to some East Asian destination," de Silva told reporters in the capital Colombo.