The Colombo High Court has ordered the seizure of properties worth around Rs. 30 million allegedly bought with drug-trafficking proceeds by the second husband of a female trafficker based in Thotalanga, Police said on Friday.
The order was issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act after the Inspector General of Police lodged a complaint with the Illegal Assets Investigation Division (IAID), which has been pursuing a string of similar asset cases this year.
Investigators found the suspect had acquired two land plots — measuring 1.30 perches and 0.75 perches — together with a luxury house in Thotalanga, all from drug-trade earnings.
The High Court extended and enforced the confiscation order for seven days effective from Friday. The IAID is conducting further inquiries.
The action adds to a sequence of recent asset-restraint orders against narcotics-linked wealth, including the Rs. 17.5 million vehicle suspension against Sampath Manamperi in April and the Rs. 70 million Embilipitiya luxury-bus freeze in May. The push reflects the government’s Rata Ekata anti-narcotics campaign, which has prioritised asset forfeiture alongside arrests.
NewsFirst and Ada Derana confirmed the same figures, with NewsFirst describing the suspect as a Colombo 14 resident whose husband acquired the properties through drug-trafficking proceeds. Ada Derana said the IAID’s investigation had established that the suspect’s second husband bought the three-storey house and two land plots using illegally obtained funds.
