The Thambuttegama Magistrate’s Court today (6 November) ordered the husband of NPP Peliyagoda Urban Council member Disna Neranjala and another suspect to be detained until 12 November for further questioning, following their arrest with a large stock of heroin at a hotel in Andagala, Eppawala.
The suspects — school principal Jayantha Balasuriya (59) and hotel cook Tharinda Dhananjaya Wickramasinghe, also known as Sandun, aged 29 — were taken into custody after police recovered a parcel of heroin weighing 1.185 kilograms hidden behind La Miraj Hotel, owned by the principal’s family. Police said the principal’s wife, NPP councillor Disna Neranjala, is a relative of notorious drug trafficker Kosgoda Suji, and that the principal too had maintained close links with the underworld figure.
According to investigators, the arrests were connected to a previous incident in which the couple’s second son, Hiran Miyuranga Balasuriya, was arrested on 30 October in Ipalogama while transporting 20 grams of heroin for sale. He has been previously arrested on several occasions for drug trafficking and possession and is currently in detention on a magistrate’s order. While he was being questioned, the family’s hotel cook visited him, during which the son revealed that a larger parcel of heroin was hidden near the Nabadawa tank and instructed the cook to retrieve and conceal it safely. Acting on these instructions, the cook recovered the parcel and hid it in the hotel.
Police, acting on a tip-off, arrested the cook yesterday (5 November) with nearly 300 grams of heroin in his possession. During questioning, he revealed the location of the larger stash, leading to the recovery of the 1.185-kilogram haul. The principal was later arrested and admitted that the heroin had been supplied by his nephew Shashi, who currently resides in Dubai and has previously been arrested in Sri Lanka multiple times on drug trafficking charges.
A search carried out at the Peliyagoda residence of NPP councillor Disna Neranjala did not uncover any suspicious items, though police say her connections to known drug traffickers remain under investigation. Police have also begun inquiries into the assets belonging to the school principal, citing long-term involvement in narcotics operations.
Both suspects were produced before the Thambuttegama Magistrate’s Court today, which ordered their detention until 12 November. The investigation is continuing under the direction of senior officers of the Anuradhapura Police Crimes Division.
