SRI LANKA POLICE BURN $7.1 MLN WORTH OF HASHISH

COLOMBO, Reuters: Sri Lankan police have burnt 10,500 kg of hashish worth
nearly $7.1 million that was seized from a fishing trawler in seas off the
island's west coast, officials said on Thursday.

The hashish was place on a pyre of logs, coconut shells and husks and set
ablaze with diesel oil on Tuesday on the orders of the additional district
court judge in Chilaw, N. Gopallawa, police said.

Police said 10 suspects arrested after the drugs were seized last December
are being charged at the court in Chilaw, 75 km (46 miles) north of the
capital Colombo.

It was the single largest haul of hashish ever in Sri Lanka, the officials
added.