LEN - www.lankaenews.com | Rs. 5000 Million (5 Billion) Drug Money War Chest: Inside the Bid to Buy Shiran Basik's Freedom

Rs. 5000 Million (5 Billion) Drug Money War Chest: Inside the Bid to Buy Shiran Basik's Freedom

Investigation within a drug cartel By Ruwan Weerakoon

(Lanka-e-News -25.Aug.2026, 2.30 PM) Sources within the drug trafficking network built around Shiran Basik say a fund of approximately Rs. 5000 Million has been assembled and is ready for disbursement, intended to secure his release and to influence the narrative around his case. According to these sources, finance handlers on the Colombo side are managing the money and are said to answer to Mohamed Siddique, the Dubai-based figure investigators link to the network.

Sources describe a woman known so far only by the name or code-name "Sandra," said to be a long-standing associate of Basik's and a frequent traveller to Sri Lanka. Preliminary source information puts her age at around 42 and describes her as unmarried, though her real identity has not yet been independently verified and further confirmation is pending before any fuller details are published.

Alleged Bribery and Legal Strategy

According to sources, the fund is intended for two purposes: to bribe police officers and to influence select media figures to rehabilitate Basik's public image. The same sources say the network has approached three Presidential Counsel, reportedly willing to take on the case for any fee, with a view to filing a fundamental rights petition against a police attorney identified as Pitigala — who, sources stress, appears to be an ordinary lawyer with no indication of wrongdoing at this stage. Should the current funds prove insufficient, sources say additional money is expected to be routed in from Dubai.

None of the bribery allegations above have been independently confirmed. They are attributed to sources and are presented as claims requiring further verification, not fact.

What We Reported — And What Basik Has Since Admitted

In our article of 16 August 2026, "The Rise and Fall of Shiran Basik," this publication reported that Basik owned two houses in Boralesgamuwa. Under investigative questioning, Basik has since admitted to owning both properties.

We also reported that he held restaurant interests on the beachfront in Dehiwala and Wellawatte. Basik has since admitted to owning five restaurants, though not in his own name — he says they were financed through the names of friends.

The Colombo Crime Investigation Bureau has yet to complete verification of his full asset portfolio. He is currently being questioned by the investigating team, with the Police Narcotics Bureau and the State Intelligence Service providing assistance and supporting information.

Political Links Under the Microscope

According to sources described as highly reliable, Basik has a clear pattern of funding political campaigns, with beneficiary politicians subsequently reciprocating with official favours. As one illustration, sources point to the beachfront restaurant construction, which would have required permits from the Coast Conservation Department — permits investigators say point directly to political intervention.

This is a clear line of inquiry for police: which politicians issued or facilitated these permits, and what, if anything, was paid in return. It is also a natural point of interest for the Bribery Commission.

Separately, sources say Basik obtained multiple government land allocations at low cost for apartment and housing construction, and that his financial reach extended into the gem trade — an industry he has no direct expertise in, but reportedly financed through intermediary businessmen. Further findings on this front will be reported as they are confirmed.

The Black-Money Launderer Who Left the Country

Sampath Aththatage, described by sources as an unremarkable private tuition teacher from Gampaha with a notable talent for persuasion, is said to have first met Basik while both were held on remand. According to sources, the two struck up an association there, and after their release, Aththatage allegedly became the architect of a scheme to launder Basik's proceeds — fronting restaurants and hotels on his behalf.

Following Basik's arrest, sources say Aththatage left Sri Lanka for Thailand with his wife, reportedly on the instructions of Mohamed Siddique, with a possible onward move to Dubai — where, sources note, there is no shortage of funds tied to the network.
An NGO in the Frame

Sources also point to Sanjaya Mahawatta, head of an organisation identified as "Magen Rata," who publicly criticised police and told media that Basik "arrived in Sri Lanka comfortably by air ticket." Sources note this account omits that Basik was in fact escorted onto the flight and handed over to Sri Lankan police by two Dubai police officers — a detail Mahawatta's public statements did not mention.

Sources allege Mahawatta's underlying motive is a future election bid, and note his close association with Sampath Aththatage. Sources further allege that Basik's drug proceeds have helped finance Mahawatta's NGO — though the source of the NGO's funding has not been independently confirmed, and this remains a point the investigation is seeking to establish.