Officer-in-Charge, Police Narcotics Bureau, Colombo-01 vs. Warnakulasuriya Mudalige Nuwan Dhanushka Fernando – CA BAIL 63/2023-2023

In the case between Lakshika Janadarie Gamage (Petitioner, on behalf of the 2nd Suspect) and the Officer-in-Charge, Police Narcotics Bureau and the Attorney General (Respondents), the court addressed the issue of whether bail should be granted under Section 83 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (as amended by Act No.41 of 2022) to a suspect accused of aiding and abetting drug trafficking involving a high commercial quantity of cocaine. It was determined that the serious nature of the offence, the quantity of drugs (3.7658 kilograms of pure cocaine), and the risk of abscondence outweighed the arguments concerning lack of positive evidence and prolonged remand. The holding reaffirmed that bail in such circumstances may only be granted in the presence of exceptional circumsta