News:2017-11-16/Report/sri-lankan-officials-raise-alarm-over-increasing-smuggling-of-kerala-ganja

News record16 November 2017Report

Sri Lankan officials raise alarm over increasing smuggling of 'Kerala Ganja'

The News Minute reported on escalating Kerala Ganja seizures in Sri Lanka, with over 300 kg seized in the preceding two months alone. Arrests included a Sri Lankan Excise Department officer at Vavuniya and an army soldier transporting 2 kg to Trincomalee. The Sri Lankan Navy had seized KG six times by October 2017. Crucially, Kerala Excise Commissioner Rishi Raj Singh stated that Kerala has "no mass ganja cultivation these days, even in Idukki," identifying Odisha, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh as the actual mass cultivation sources, with Naxals or ex-Naxals involved. He noted that Idukki cannabis had historically commanded a premium in international markets and that "the chances of faking ganja from other parts of the country as Kerala ganja cannot be ruled out" — effectively confirming the KG label as a brand name rather than an origin designation.

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More news from Sri Lanka

• 9 Mar 2026Suspect arrested in raid on two-acre cannabis cultivation in Kebilihtha Reserve
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• 14 Feb 2026Special Operation Launched to Eliminate Drugs and Illicit Liquor in Uva Province
• 22 Nov 2025Massive cannabis plantations raided inside Yala Reserve
• 24 Oct 2025Major Kerala Ganja trafficker arrested in Sri Lanka
• 13 Aug 2025Sri Lanka approves first-ever legal cannabis cultivation for export

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Date16 Nov 2017

CategoryReport

CountrySri Lanka

Source report

2017-11-16 Report Sri Lankan officials raise alarm over increasing smuggling of 'Kerala Ganja' The News Minute reported on escalating Kerala Ganja seizures in Sri Lanka, with over 300 kg seized in the preceding two months alone. Arrests included a Sri Lankan Excise Department officer at Vavuniya and an army soldier transporting 2 kg to Trincomalee. The Sri Lankan Navy had seized KG six times by October 2017. Crucially, Kerala Excise Commissioner Rishi Raj Singh stated that Kerala has "no mass ganja cultivation these days, even in Idukki," identifying Odisha, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh as the actual mass cultivation sources, with Naxals or ex-Naxals involved. He noted that Idukki cannabis had historically commanded a premium in international markets and that "the chances of faking ganja from other parts of the country as Kerala ganja cannot be ruled out" — effectively confirming the KG label as a brand name rather than an origin designation. https://www.thenewsminute.com/kerala/sri-lankan-officials-raise-alarm-over-increasing-smuggling-kerala-ganja-71691 https://cf-images.assettype.com/thenewsminute%2Fimport%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fcannabis weed ganja.jpg