Sri Lanka’s Charge de Affairs in Abu Dhabi together with the Consul General in Dubai have met with UAE foreign Officials and brought Sri Lanka’s concerns on Makandure Madush’s arrest to their attention.
The Foreign Secretary, Ravinatha Aryasinha told the Sunday Observer that the Sri Lankan representatives during this meeting on Thursday handed over a full dossier, on the notorious drug lord wanted in Sri Lanka and some of the persons arrested with him.
The Foreign Secretary said that the UAE foreign officials assured them that they are taking the case very seriously, particularly due to the fact that the offences are related to drugs. According to the strict UAE law, the drugs detected in blood or urine is also considered as possession of drugs.An official source said the suspects of the case are expected to be produced in courts today (Feb 10). In the UAE calendar, Fridays and Saturdays are off days and Sunday is the first working day of the week.
Despite media reports that extradition of the drug lord is currently being discussed with the UAE officials, the source said,“ There is an Interpol red notice on Madush and extradition is part of that process.” But it is learnt that the Sri Lankan offcials have not pushed this prospect with their UAE counterparts so far. The diplomat said Sri Lanka’s first priority at the moment is to ensure continued detention of Madush and several other wanted persons who were with him at the high profile party. It has also been brought to light that the diplomatic passport holder is just a VIP who is not permitted to use a diplomatic travel document. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe responding to a query in Parliament last week said that Sri Lanka would allow the law of the host nation to take its course. He said the wanted criminal Madush would be prosecuted in the UAE first and the courts there would decide if the notorious drug kingpin is to be deported to Sri Lanka.
Given the calibre of the drug lord who had been evading arrest for a long time, and who is wanted in Colombo for many grave crimes, the officials here are worried that he will exploit whatever opportunities he finds to escape the law.