ROME, AUG. 4, REUTER —Italian police seized heroin with a street value of about 10 billion lire (7.25 million dollars) on Thursday and said they had uncovered part of a drugs network raising money for Tamil guerrillas in Sri Lanka.
They arrested Visuyasam Gnanapiragasam, a 33yearold Sri Lankan Tamil, after forcing the door of his apartment in central Rome which they had been watching since last autumn.
They found 10 KG (22 pounds) of pure heroin concealed at the bottom of three large travel bags.
The drug was covered in chemically treated plates, making it undetectable by x-ray, and the bags were doused in scent to confuse sniffer dogs.
Police said that three days ago they arrested another Tamil who was carrying 215,000 dollars, allegedly to buy heroin.
They said they were still looking for other members of the network, which they believed helped sponsor the separatist movement’s fight against the Sinhalese majority in Sri Lanka.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 12, 1988
