Sri Lanka on high alert ahead of Ramadhan
COLOMBO: Sri Lankan security forces maintained a high level of alert yesterday after the Easter Sunday bombings, officials said, amid intelligence reports that Islamist militants were planning fresh attacks before the start of the holy Islamic month of Ramadhan.
The head of the police ministerial security division had said in a letter to lawmakers and other officials that attacks were expected on Sunday or Monday by militants dressed in army uniform.
There were no attacks on Sunday and Monday but security across Buddhistmajority Sri Lanka remains ramped up, with scores of suspected Islamists arrested since the April 21 attacks on hotels and churches that killed more than 250 people, including 42 foreign nationals. BEIJING: A Chinese court sentenced a second Canadian man to death for drug trafficking yesterday amid diplomatic tensions between Ottawa and Beijing.
The court in southern Guangdong province said the Canadian, Fan Wei, and 10 others – including an American and four Mexicans – had been part of an international narcotics syndicate working out of Taishan city between July and November 2012.
The group produced and sold 63.38 kilos of methamphetamine and 366 grammes of dimethylamylamine, a drug used for attention deficit-hyperactive disorder, weight loss and improving athletic performance, according to the Jiangmen Intermediate People’s Court.
Fan and a Chinese man who played a key role in operations were sentenced to death, the court said in a statement.
“The number of drugs sold and manufactured was extremely large and the crimes were extremely serious,” the statement said.
The other foreigners were given suspended death sentences which would be reduced to life imprisonment after two years while the rest of the men faced prison terms.
They have 10 days to appeal the sentence.
Fan is the second Canadian to face capital punishment this year. However, the government lifted a ban on social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp and viber, a source at the president’s office said.
The ban had been imposed immediately after the attacks to prevent the spread of rumours.
“Security will stay tight for several days because military and police are still tracking down suspects,” a senior police intelligence official said yesterday.
Another government source told Reuters a document has been circulated among key security establishments instructing all police and security forces across the Indian Ocean island nation to remain on high alert because the militants were expected to try a strike before Ramadhan.
Ramadhan is scheduled to begin in Sri Lanka on May 6.
China sentences Canadian to death for drug trafficking