Lankan lawmaker under scanner for ties with drug kingpin

A Sri Lankan lawmaker has come under investigation for his alleged links to a notorious drug kingpin who confessed to have smuggled over 1,000 kilos of heroin to the country over three years.
Police spokesperson SSP Ajith Rohana said a court here has ordered a probe into all accounts under the name of Duminda Silva, a parliamentarian from the former ruling UPFA coalition.
Rohana the courts decision would aid investigations into alleged ties between Silva and drug smuggler Vidanalage Samantha Kumara alias Wele Suda, who was brought to Colombo on January 12 after being arrested in Peshawar earlier this month.

Suda told detectives he had imported about 1,000 kilos of heroin since 2012 worth a total of USD 75 million to Colombo, a key hub for the narcotic originating in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
He had been arrested in Pakistan in a joint operation between the Pakistani and Sri Lankan authorities, based on information provided by the Sri Lankan police.
The police added that the drug kingpin's connections with several former high ranking police officers are also being investigated.