LEN - www.lankaenews.com | Drug Cartel's Failed Bid to Bribe President, Ministers

Drug Cartel's Failed Bid to Bribe President, Ministers — Now Targeting Judiciary and Police

By Ruwan Weerakoon - Investigations

Cartel Sought to Buy Political Protection With $5 Billion

(Lanka-e-News -28.Aug.2026,4.00 PM) A well-placed source has told this publication that a drug cartel operating out of Dubai and Pakistan attempted to offer as much as $5 billion in bribes to the President and senior Ministers, in a bid to secure political protection.

According to the source, the overtures were rebuffed by the close political figures approached, and the network has since abandoned that avenue.

Shifting Focus to Police, Prisons and the Attorney General's Department

Having failed to secure protection at the political level, the cartel is now reported to be targeting law enforcement and prison officials instead.

Most alarming, according to sources, are efforts allegedly underway to bribe state attorneys within the Attorney General's Department, as well as officers attached to the Presidential Secretariat.

Legal Manoeuvres Underway

The network has reportedly retained two President's Counsel to pursue two separate legal actions:

A fundamental rights petition before the Supreme Court
A writ application before the Court of Appeal, challenging what is described as an illegal detention
Basick's Political Connections

Drug trafficker Shiran Basick has admitted to a connection with former Mayor of Dehiwala–Mount Lavinia, Danasiri Amarathunga, who is described as a close associate of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

This connection was first disclosed in this publication's earlier reporting, and police have already recorded a statement in relation to it. Police are expected to summon Amarathunga in the near future to record a further statement, with investigators seeking to establish how illicit funds were allegedly laundered — converted from "black money" to "white money" — through his involvement.

Second Political Figure Named: Former Deputy Minister Arundika Fernando

Basick has also implicated a second politician: Arundika Fernando, a former Deputy Minister representing the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna in the Puttalam District.

Basick claims Fernando authorised the establishment of restaurants along the Dehiwala–Wellawatte coastal belt. Police have recorded statements on this matter and are expected to summon Fernando shortly.

Apartment Holdings and Business Associates

This publication has also received information that Basick built three apartment complexes, with financing reportedly involving a close associate identified as tuition master Samath Atapattu, who is said to have invested in the apartment companies.

Police Probe Widens to Officers With Alleged Links to Basick

Investigators are also examining which police officers may have had links to Shiran Basick, as the probe into the network's domestic connections continues.

Will Sri Lanka Police Seek Dubai's Help?

A key question going forward is whether Sri Lanka Police will formally request Dubai Police to hand over Basick's telephone records — a step that could shed further light on the network's international contacts.

Coming Next: A Second Kingpin, Based in Dehibala

This publication will shortly publish a further exposé on another alleged drug kingpin operating out of Dehibala, described by sources as a contract killer.

A Warning to Officers

To police, prison, customs, Attorney General's Department, and navy personnel: any officer found to have taken a bribe from Shiran Basick's network will not be shielded by rank or position.

Once such involvement is confirmed, this publication will publish the names, addresses, and photographic or video evidence of the officers responsible, and will hand this material over to electronic media — because that remains a journalist's foremost responsibility.

Be gentlemen. Love your country more than dirty money.

Our eyes remain on the drug cartel operating in Dubai and Pakistan.