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Sri Lankan police have issued a 14-day order freezing a house in Madapatha worth around Rs. 35 million over suspicions that it was bought with money earned through drug trafficking.
Mariyam Adheela
Sri Lanka Police -- Photo: Tamil Guardian
Dehiwala: Sri Lankan police have temporarily barred the sale or transfer of a three-storey house in Madapatha, valued at approximately Rs. 35 million, as part of an investigation into suspected money laundering linked to drug trafficking.
The order was issued by the Illegal Assets Investigation Division under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. It took effect on October 9 and will remain in place for 14 days.
Investigators believe the property was purchased using money earned through drug trafficking by a close associate of an organised criminal involved in drug-related activities in the Dehiwala area.
The house stands on a 12-perch plot of land. According to investigators, the property was registered in the name of the associate’s wife’s elder brother.
Police began investigating the associate after information about him emerged during a separate inquiry into the Dehiwala-based criminal.
The freezing order prevents the property from being sold, transferred or otherwise dealt with during the specified period.
The Illegal Assets Investigation Division is continuing its investigation to establish the source of the money used to acquire the property and determine its suspected links to drug trafficking.
