Gampola Vidanage Samantha Kumara, alias Wele Suda, his wife, and another woman have each been sentenced to eight years of rigorous imprisonment by the Colombo High Court.

They were found guilty under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act for accumulating property through heroin trafficking.

Following a lengthy trial, Colombo High Court Judge Aditya Patabandige delivered the verdict today (15 January)

In addition to the prison sentence, the defendants were fined, and the court ordered the confiscation of their illegally acquired property, money, and gold.

The Attorney General had filed indictment in the HC against ‘Wele Suda’, his wife Gayani Priyadarshani and his cousin Wasanthi Wasundara alleging that they committed a punishable offense under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act by acquiring nearly Rs. 150 million worth of land and houses in Colombo and its suburbs with the proceeds of heroin drug trafficking.

In a seperate case, Samantha Kumara has been sentenced to death after he was found guilty of charges of possessing 7.05 grams of heroin in Mount Lavinia in 2008.