9 January 2024 07:46 am
The National Medicines Regulatory Authority officials on a Court directive visited the infamous Isolez Biotech Pharma AG (Pvt) Ltd. plant in Seeduwa yesterday morning, where its owner Janaka Fernando, who is in remand custody, was also brought to the scene.
Police Spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa told the Daily Mirror the representatives of the NMRA and the Criminal Investigation Department officials had visited the scene around 2.00 pm yesterday afternoon along with the suspect.
The main suspect had however been brought to the plant site by the Welikada Prisons officials escorted by the CID officials as there had been much delay in getting the former arranged for the factory visit.
The NMRA officials had entered the plant premises with the keys in their custody when the suspect was brought to the scene, where he was then escorted into the main building.
The authorities could not proceed to inspect the facility or the main plant beyond the building’s lobby, as the power connection had been shut down previously and the entire premises was dark.
When the officials asked the plant owner to turn the power on, he had refused to comply, saying that he was not feeling well and that he could not exactly remember how to turn the power on, the spokesman said.
The authorities had even escorted the suspect to the main switch panel of the entire premises, where the power lines are connected to an outside transformer but the latter had refused to cooperate.
The officials had no other option but to escort the suspect back to the Welikada Prison shortly after.
Since the court-ordered factory visit was a failure, the officials said that they will report facts to the Maligakanda Magistrate tomorrow, when the case is next taken up, SSP Thalduwa said.
Maligakanda Magistrate on December 27th ordered the NMRA and CID officials to take the main suspect for a plant visit before January 9th and the officials arranged the visit.