Sri Lanka in talks with India to extradite most wanted criminal

Sri Lanka is in talks with India to extradite a most wanted criminal, the Police said today.

Police Spokesman, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Ajith Rohana said that India had formally informed Sri Lanka that the criminal had been arrested and is in Indian Police custody.

M.M.M. Nawas, the Sri Lankan national, was arrested by the Indian Narcotics Control Bureau along with his compatriot Mohamed Afnas for alleged involvement in an international drug trafficking racket.

DIG Ajith Rohana said that Nawas was wanted in Sri Lanka over a deadly shooting incident targeting Police Narcotics Bureau officers on May 9, 2017.

The Police Spokesman said that talks are now underway to seek the extradition of the criminal to Sri Lanka.

Nawas was said to be a key associate of Kanjipani Imran, now lodged in a Sri Lankan jail, who had direct links with Pakistan-based drug cartels.

The accused arranged vessels to transport drug consignments from the Gwadar port through maritime routes to transit points in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. (Colombo Gazette)