The Central Crime Investigation Bureau has frozen property worth about Rs. 100 million that it suspects was bought with the proceeds of drug trafficking, the Daily Mirror reported.
The order was made under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and runs for 14 days from 8 October 2026. It bars the sale, transfer or disposal of the assets while investigators work.
The case
Investigators say a resident of Boralesgamuwa, arrested over narcotics smuggled into Sri Lanka from the United Arab Emirates, used money from the drug trade to buy property registered in the names of his son, his father and another close associate.
The suspect is not named in the report, and the report does not say whether the three people in whose names the assets were held face any allegation themselves.
What was frozen
- A gymnasium on Dehiwala Road, Boralesgamuwa — about Rs. 35 million
- A tourist bungalow on six roods and three perches, a house on 17 roods and one perch, and agricultural land of two roods and five perches, all at Tittawelgolla, Dambulla — about Rs. 35 million between them
- An apartment in a luxury housing complex at Yakkala — about Rs. 30 million
On the Daily Mirror’s own figures the three valuations total exactly Rs. 100 million, so the “more than Rs. 100 million” in its headline rests on rounding rather than on a fourth asset. The Bureau says investigations into the properties and their alleged link to drug proceeds are continuing.
Context
Asset freezes of this kind have become routine. They are temporary orders that stop property changing hands while police build a case; they are not forfeiture, and a court must later decide whether the assets are in fact proceeds of crime.
Not reported: the filing does not name the suspect, say when he was arrested or on what charges, or say whether he has been produced in court. It does not say which court or officer approved the freezing order, whether the order has been or will be extended beyond 14 days, or what quantity of narcotics the underlying case involves. No comment from anyone acting for the suspect or for the registered owners is reported.
