The Colombo High Court has today (14) ordered the acquittal of Mohammed Shiran Basik, who was said to be a major drug trafficker. Sri Lanka Latest News
High Court Judge Manjula Thilakaratne has ordered that he be acquitted due to the strong contradictions in the evidence given by the officers of the Police Narcotics Bureau.
The complaint stated that the suspect was arrested on January 11, 2011, near the Edmonton housing complex in Kirulapana with 4.53 grams of heroin.
At first, it was mentioned that he was arrested alone, but later the concerned police officials said that the suspect was arrested while he was with his child.
Also, although a police officer had told the court that the raid was carried out based on a phone call he had received, the defence lawyer had shown before the court evidence that the phone number had been disconnected about one and a half years ago.
Based on that evidence, the judge concluded that it was inappropriate to convict the accused.
The evidentiary hearing was conducted without the accused as he had fled to the state of Dubai.
Meanwhile, steps were taken to demolish a hotel built near the beach in the Dehiwala area, which is said to belong to the accused.
