769kg of cocaine going up in smoke tomorrow

Going up in smoke tomorrow will be 769kg of cocaine -- a stock that was kept as court case evidence and released after a lengthily legal process.

The large stock will be inspected by a magistrate and subjected to sample testing on site by the Government Analyst, a senior police source told the Sunday Times. The exercise will be open to media coverage, said Dr. Samantha Kiathalawaarchchi, Director of the Presidential task force on drug prevention. The process will begin at the DNS Warehouse complex at Gonawala in Kelaniya tomorrow morning.

The stock will also be weighed and subsequently dissolved in a liquid to prepare it for destruction in a high temperature incinerator in Puttalam. President Maithripala Sirisena, government leaders and senior law enforcement officers are expected to be present at the event.

Yesterday, the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) was issued an order by Colombo's additional magistrate to detain 34-year old Mohamed Najim Mohamed Imran alias Kanjipani Imran of Colombo 08 for three months. The order was given under the Prevention of Terrorism act (PTA).

Imran arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) on

Wednesday night on a Fly Dubai flight from Dubai. With him on the same flight were Thubedurahewa Anushka Kaushal alias Janja of Gandara, Amila Sampath Sepala Rathnyaka of Rotumba in the south and Andersen Fernandez of Colombo 13.

The four had been taken into custody by the Dubai Police at a party organised by alleged drug king pin Makandure Madush. Police said Kanjipani Imran had gone to Dubai in March 2015 and obtained permanent residency in January 2016. He was listed as a mobile phone dealer.

Police believe it was Makandure Madush's mistress who gave the four suspects air tickets to return to Sri Lanka. She lives in Dubai.

Kanjipani Imran and Janja had attempted to give the police the slip by trying to board a SriLankan Airlines flight to the Maldives. This flight was scheduled to leave the BIA within an hour of their arrival. They had planned to evade the police and board the flight as transit passengers and had two tickets for the Male flight.

However, their attempt failed when the police and immigration officials intercepted them in the arrival area. A senior police source said Kanjipani Imran had in his possession a fake passport which he had used to travel. He had flown to south India two days after the February 2017 Kalutara Prison bus attack in which seven people were killed. The dead included Madusha's rival Anura Damith Udayanga Pathirana alias Samayan and two prison guards. Police suspect that the hit team escaped the country that evening to India by boat.