Former Minister Johnston Fernando arrived at Sri Lanka’s Illegal Assets Investigation Division (IAID) on Tuesday morning to record a statement in connection with an ongoing probe into former local government member Sampath Manamperi.
Manamperi was arrested in September last year over allegations of concealing two containers of raw materials suspected for use in producing the synthetic drug crystal methamphetamine (“ICE”), along with illegal weapons stored at a site in Middeniya. The cache reportedly belonged to the underworld figure known as Kehelbaddara Padme, Newswire reported.
Fernando’s June 2 appearance follows the IAID’s earlier summons on May 26, when he and former Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi were called for statements under a widening probe into alleged unexplained wealth. On that occasion Wanniarachchi recorded her statement while Fernando requested that his appearance be rescheduled — a deferral that the latest visit now closes out.
The questioning links Fernando to one of the more politically sensitive narcotics-precursor cases on the IAID’s docket. Manamperi remains in remand and has separately seen the IAID suspend use of his Rs.17.5 million vehicle pending verification of how it was funded.
The former chief government whip is also navigating other parallel proceedings. He was released on bail over the alleged Sathosa lorry-ethanol case earlier this year and was previously the subject of a witness warrant in a separate matter on May 5. The IAID’s expanded role under the current administration runs alongside the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption’s June 30 asset-declaration deadline for public officials.
Source: Newswire.
