The Illegal Assets Division has frozen property and assets worth Rs. 100 million belonging to Ranatunga Arachchige Nalin Arjuna, described as a close associate of the detained drug trafficker Mohamed Shiran Basik.
The order took effect on Thursday, 10 September and runs for 14 days, Hiru News reported. It suspends all transactions, transfers and alterations to the assets to prevent their sale or transfer while investigations continue.
What was frozen
- A two-storey house on 19.90 perches at Kadawatha
- A two-storey house on an 18-perch plot at Kelaniya
Investigators say the properties were bought with proceeds of drug trafficking. The Division said it is preparing to report its findings to the High Court to extend the freezing order beyond the initial 14 days.
Why the 14 days matter
A freezing order of this kind is an interim measure, not a forfeiture. It holds the assets in place while the state assembles the evidence needed to persuade a court to keep them frozen — and, eventually, to seek forfeiture. The two-week window is the operative deadline: if the Division does not obtain an extension from the High Court, the restriction lapses and the properties can be dealt with freely.
The Basik network
Basik has been the subject of a widening financial investigation rather than only a narcotics one. He was named in Dubai-based trafficking with an Iranian supply network, his bank accounts came under review in August, and the CCIB has separately investigated Dhanasiri Amaratunga in connection with the same probe.
Thursday’s order fits that pattern: the state is moving against the assets of people around Basik rather than against Basik alone, which is the standard method where a principal is already in custody and the money has been placed in other names.
Not reported
Hiru News does not say whether Nalin Arjuna has been arrested, charged or questioned, or whether he has responded. It does not state how the two properties were valued at Rs. 100 million, when they were acquired, whether other assets remain under investigation, or which court will hear the extension application and on what date. The report gives no detail on Basik’s current detention — where he is held, under what order, or whether the freezing action forms part of a wider case against him.
No other verified newsroom had filed on the order at the time of publication. Ada Derana’s site has returned a CloudFront block on every attempt across recent cycles and could not be checked.
