Film and teledrama actor Vishwa Kodikara was fined Rs. 5,000 by the Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to possessing cocaine, the Daily Mirror reported.
Magistrate Kanchana Neranjala Silva reprimanded Kodikara and warned that he would be referred for rehabilitation if he were involved in a similar offence in future.
The arrest
Wellawatta Police arrested Kodikara and four other people during a raid on a restaurant in the Wellawatta beach area on Wednesday. All five were produced before the Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
A small fine, and why
Rs. 5,000 is at the low end of what Sri Lankan courts impose in narcotics matters, and the disposal — a guilty plea, a fine, a reprimand and a warning about rehabilitation rather than a custodial sentence or a rehabilitation order made on the spot — is consistent with a small quantity treated as personal possession by a first-time offender.
The court’s warning is the operative part of the order: it establishes that a further offence would be dealt with as a rehabilitation matter rather than by another fine.
Not reported
The Daily Mirror does not state the quantity of cocaine involved, which is the figure that would explain the size of the penalty. It does not say whether Kodikara was represented by counsel, whether he has any previous convictions, or what the exact charge was under the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance.
Nor does the report say what became of the four others arrested in the same raid — whether they were charged, what with, or how their cases were disposed of — or whether the restaurant itself faces any action.
On the reporting
The Daily Mirror is the only verified newsroom to have filed on this case. Several aggregator sites carrying the story state that 1,050 milligrams of cocaine were found in Kodikara’s possession. That figure does not appear in any verified newsroom’s account and is not reproduced here as established fact; it would, if confirmed, be consistent with the penalty imposed.
