Excise officers launched a series of raids in the Matara, Athuraliya and Midigama areas and arrested nine persons, including a woman, engaged in distilling Kasippu and selling ganja and heroin, last week.

Dheera Gunasekara, OIC, Excise Station, Matara said the raids were conducted on a tip off received by Commissioner General of Excise Wasantha Hapuarachchi.

Among the items seized were 240,000 miligrams of ganja (cannabis), 60 miligrams of heroin, 11,300 litres of kasippu, 680,000 litres of goda, barrels used for distilling illicit hooch. The value of items seized is around Rs. one million, he said.

Four persons were arrested for selling ganja, another for selling heroin while four men were nabbed engaged in distilling kasippu, Gunasekera said.

The illicit distilleries were operated in the marshes surrounding mangrows near Midigama Oya and the existence of these distilleries threatened the environment as they dumped the waste products into the waters of Midigama Oya, he explained.

The kasippu produced here had been distributed in the areas of Tellijjawila, Akuressa, Kamburupitiya, Weligama, Ahangama, Dikkumbura and Matara, he said.

The ganja and heroin sellers operated in the Matara municipal limits, Batuta Road, Tudawa and Hittetiya, the OIC said.

The suspects arrested for selling ganja and heroin were produced before Additional Magistrate Matara L. C. Madanayake on August 19 and on pleading guilty, were ordered to be present in court on August 26 for punitive action.

The four suspects arrested for operating illicit distilleries were released on Rs 50,000 excise bail and will be produced in court on August 26, Gunasekera said.