Mannar woman arrested over drug money laundering

Colombo, March 16 (Daily Mirror) - The Illegal Assets Investigation Division has arrested a suspect under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act for allegedly assisting in the disposal of assets obtained through drug trafficking.

Police said the investigations were launched following a complaint that a suspect who trafficked narcotics from South India to Sri Lanka between 2019 and 2023 had used the proceeds to acquire a two-storey house, a five-room house, a car and nearly 360 pounds of gold jewellery. The gold items had reportedly been pawned and later sold.

After the main suspect was arrested, a case was filed in the Mannar High Court regarding the two houses and the car believed to have been purchased using illicit funds. Court orders were obtained to freeze these assets and extensions are being sought to maintain those orders.

Further investigations revealed that the suspect’s mother-in-law had pawned the gold jewellery at several financial institutions and later sold them to multiple gold shops in the Mannar area.

Accordingly, the woman was arrested in Mannar yesterday for aiding and abetting offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act by pawning and selling gold items obtained through illegal activities while knowing their origin.

The suspect is a 66-year-old resident of Mannar. Further investigations are being carried out by the Illegal Assets Investigation Division.