A 47-year-old man and his 45-year-old wife have been arrested in Padavi Parakramapura, Anuradhapura, and assets valued at about Rs. 47.5 million placed under a 14-day freezing order in a money laundering investigation.
The arrests were made by the Illegal Assets Investigation Division, acting on a complaint received by the Criminal Investigation Department alleging that the man had built up assets with proceeds from illegal drug trafficking. The matter was referred to the division on the instructions of the Inspector General of Police.
What was frozen
Investigators identified a 15-perch plot with a two-storey building in Padaviya New Town, registered in the wife’s name and valued at about Rs. 27.5 million, and a 15-perch property with a house at Vijayapura, Anuradhapura, valued at around Rs. 12 million. A van valued at Rs. 6.5 million and a Dimo Batta lorry valued at about Rs. 1.5 million are also covered.
The freezing orders took effect on 22 September and remain in force for 14 days while inquiries continue into the source of the assets.
The couple were arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Hiru News reported the value as “over Rs. 40 million,” describing the frozen items as property; Daily Mirror’s itemised figures total Rs. 47.5 million, of which the two land parcels account for Rs. 39.5 million. Both accounts describe the same case — the same ages, location and investigating division.
The case is the latest in a run of asset freezes tied to alleged drug trafficking proceeds. The same division froze Rs. 90 million in property in a Wattala case on 17 September, and more than Rs. 125 million across two separate investigations the following day.
