Sri Lanka’s Police Special Investigation Unit has recorded a statement from Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Ranmal Kodithuwakku, who is in charge of the Criminal Division, as part of an investigation into the seizure of an ice drug consignment worth about Rs1 billion at the Port of Colombo.
The statement was recorded on the 8th for approximately one hour, following an order issued by Inspector General of Police Priyantha Weerasuriya to investigate the circumstances surrounding the seizure.
The drugs, weighing 472kg, were discovered concealed inside towels in a container located at a container yard at the Port of Colombo. The seizure followed information received by a Sub-Inspector attached to the Central Criminal Investigation Bureau of the police.
According to the information received by the officer, details were provided about the local agent who had brought in the relevant container, its serial number and the quantity of drugs believed to be inside. After reporting the information to the court and obtaining judicial authorisation, officers broke the seal of the container at the Port of Colombo and conducted a search, during which the consignment of drugs was discovered.
The investigation was carried out by officers of the Central Criminal Investigation Bureau under the direct supervision of Senior Deputy Inspector General Ranmal Kodithuwakku and under the direction of the Bureau’s Director, Senior Superintendent of Police Kamal Ariyawansa.
The same information had also been received by Senior Deputy Inspector General Kodithuwakku, who is responsible for the Criminal Division. However, although the investigation concerning the information had been referred to the Police Narcotics Bureau, it had not been possible for the bureau to bring the investigation to a successful conclusion.
The seizure has since become the subject of an internal police investigation after the Inspector General of Police reportedly took the position that the operation had been carried out incorrectly. The move has prompted strong opposition within the police department, according to police sources.
The officers involved in the seizure are now facing an investigation despite the operation having resulted in the recovery of 472kg of ice from a container at the Colombo Port. The police sources described the seizure as the largest quantity of drugs discovered on land.
The investigation into Senior Deputy Inspector General Kodithuwakku comes against the backdrop of the competing actions surrounding the intelligence that led to the seizure. While information about the container and its contents had reached police investigators, the matter had initially been referred to the Police Narcotics Bureau, where the investigation did not succeed.
The subsequent operation by officers of the Central Criminal Investigation Bureau, conducted after judicial authorisation, resulted in the container being opened and the drugs being discovered.
The decision to investigate the officers over the manner in which the seizure was conducted has consequently generated significant discontent within the police department. Police sources said the internal opposition was linked to the fact that the officers who carried out the seizure were being investigated over an operation that had resulted in the recovery of a drug consignment valued at approximately Rs1 billion.
