By Roy Denish.
The Shiran Basik investigation has reportedly uncovered claims involving murders, extortion, money laundering, properties and political payments.
Reportedly identified as a major figure in a drug trafficking network operating between Sri Lanka and Europe, Shiran Basik — who was formerly based in Dubai — was brought back to the country and arrested at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) on August 14.
Currently being interrogated while in the custody of the Central Crime Investigation Bureau, Basik is reported to have provided a significant amount of information, details of which have now been reported by News Center Unlimited.
Basik has reportedly confessed to five murders, as well as to extorting money from businessmen in the Hanwella, Meegoda, and Padukka areas.
That is not all.
Further details are now emerging about how he allegedly laundered illicit funds, purchased popular beachfront hotels, paid covert bribes amounting to Rs. 20 million to politicians, maintained financially driven relationships with several popular local actors and actresses, and even hired well-known Sri Lankan YouTubers to promote his ventures.
Most notably, reports state that his wife, Fatima Rifka, a former Sri Lankan flight attendant, operated an event management company in Thalawathugoda with him. The company was reportedly shut down after the couple relocated to Dubai.
On another front, the Coast Conservation Department has reportedly issued strict orders for the removal of unauthorised constructions and hotels operated by Shiran Basik and his associates along the coastline between Dehiwala and Bambalapitiya.
Authorities are said to be preparing to demolish and clear the structures if they are not removed voluntarily.
Notably, the properties are reportedly not limited to those linked to alleged drug traffickers. It has also been revealed that two hotels belonging to a former high-ranking military official and his sister are among the structures identified.
The broader concern is the potential environmental damage the country could face if future floods, coastal erosion, or landslides are worsened by unauthorised developments encroaching on environmentally sensitive areas, including the coastal belt and the banks of the Mahaweli River.
Attention will now turn to whether the law is strictly and consistently enforced against those responsible for such unauthorised and potentially damaging developments.
