The Negombo Magistrate’s Court has ordered the release on bail of 45-year-old “Mohammed Mihilar Mohammed Arshad”, suspected to be a close aide of Kanjipani Imran, an organized crime gang leader who was arrested at the Katunayake Airport after being deported to Sri Lanka early yesterday (24/07/2025) in India.
Yesterday (24/07/2025), officers of the Narcotics Bureau presented him before Negombo Additional Magistrate Darshima Premaratne and the Narcotics Bureau presented evidence to obtain a detention order for questioning this suspect.
Senior Counsel Nelson Kumaranayake and Duleesha Wijesuriya appeared on behalf of the suspect. Senior Counsel Nelson Kumaranayake pointed out that there was no evidence to file any charges against the suspect. The lawyer further pointed out that there was no drug in his possession and that there was no legal provision to keep the suspect under detention orders since there was no evidence against him.
Accordingly, the Negombo Additional Magistrate ordered the suspect to be released on bail on a personal bail of five hundred thousand rupees and adjourned further hearing in this regard to the 28th (28/07/2025).
The suspect, who was arrested by the police at the Katunayake International Airport at around 2.30 am yesterday, is a resident of Aduruppu Street, Colombo 13. He was arrested by the security officials of that country while illegally staying in India and was deported to Sri Lanka from Chennai, India on Indigo flight 6E – 1171 yesterday morning.
It is reported that this person had fled to Dubai in 2017. Then in 2019, it is reported that this person had fled to India after several organized crime gang leaders including Makandure Madush were arrested in Dubai.