28 September 2023 :

The Colombo High Court on September 27, 2023 sentenced five people to death for heroin trafficking.
The judge, Namal Ballale, found the defendants guilty of transporting over 152 kilograms of heroin in a fishing vessel, which was intercepted by the Sri Lanka Navy off the coast of Ratmalana in 2019.
In his verdict, Justice Ballale stated that the charges filed by the Attorney General against the defendants had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. He also noted that the defendants had not shown any remorse for their crime, and that the death penalty was necessary to deter others from engaging in similar activities.