Twenty-three members of the clergy arrested over the smuggling of kush and hash from Thailand were again produced before the Negombo Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, as investigators added a new lay suspect to the network.
The case stems from the 26 April detection at Bandaranaike International Airport, when Police Narcotics Bureau officers apprehended 22 robe-clad suspects with more than 110 kilograms of kush and hash hidden in their luggage on arrival from Thailand. A 23rd monk, Angunakole Amithananda Thera, was later arrested for aiding and abetting the operation.
Presenting facts in court on Tuesday, Sub-Inspector Rajapaksa told the bench that a layperson, Chandrakumara Dayarathna, had also been arrested in connection with the smuggling network. He was produced before the Kaduwela Magistrate’s Court, which issued a detention order valid until 12 May.
All suspects were remanded as investigations into the international trafficking operation continue. The case has triggered a series of parallel accountability moves, including recommendations from the Mahanayaka Theros condemning the monks, an Interpol red notice request for a fugitive monk identified as the ring’s principal orchestrator, and the arrest of the alleged main suspect.
