Powder washed ashore in Tamil Nadu’s Nagapattinam is methamphetamine, forensic analysis reveals

NAGAPATTINAM: Forensic analysis of crystalline powder packed in two plastic boxes, said to have washed ashore at Kodiyakarai in the district on Sunday, has confirmed that it is methamphetamine, a psychostimulant. The discovery of the substance is a first in the district and law enforcement officials suspect that the contraband was abandoned at sea during an attempt to smuggle it to Sri Lanka.

Following information received on Sunday evening, the Coastal Security Group (CSG) from Vedaranyam collected the plastic boxes that washed ashore at the Kodiyakarai fish landing centre. Suspecting that the powder, each containing one kilogram, was a narcotic, the samples were sent to Chennai for forensic analysis.

Laboratory tests revealed that it was methamphetamine, also known as ‘meth’, a stimulant and recreational drug worth millions of rupees per kilogram on the international market.

A case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, was registered at the Vedaranyam police station on Tuesday.

CSG officials suspect that the drugs were smuggled by drug cartels in areas like Vedaranyam through the sea route to Sri Lanka. “The smugglers might have dropped the drugs from their boats when they spotted a law enforcement agency ship like the Coast Guard or the Navy. The boxes might have entered the sea water and reached Kodiyakarai,” an official said.