All 23 accused in the Bandaranaike International Airport monk drug-smuggling case have been remanded until 9 June, the Negombo Additional Magistrate’s Court ordered on Tuesday.
Additional Magistrate Shubhani Abeysekara extended the remand of the suspects after the case was taken up again. The third accused, identified as Chandrakumara Dayaratne, was produced in person before the court, while the remaining accused participated in the proceedings through online links from custody.
The case stems from the 25 April detection at Bandaranaike International Airport, when Police Narcotics Bureau officers arrested 22 robed suspects found with about 112 kilograms of kush and hashish smuggled in their luggage on a return flight from Thailand. Investigators allege the operation was orchestrated by a monk identified as Angunakole Amithananda Thera, who was later arrested while in hiding at a temple in the Gampaha area after an Interpol red notice request.
The suspects were previously produced before the Negombo court in mid-May as the network was widened to include lay accomplices. Police have separately traced bank transfers running into “several millions” linked to a financier who allegedly funded the monks’ overseas travel. The case has drawn condemnation from the Mahanayaka Theras and triggered moves to disrobe the implicated clergy.
