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Few names provoke as much public anger in Sri Lanka as Kanjipani Imran, the underworld figure and drug trafficker whose escape by boat to India left the country red-faced. So, when posts began circulating that he had been quietly released and allowed to slip out of the country, under former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s watch, the accusation travelled fast across Sinhala feeds. We investigated. Here is what we found.
Social Media Posts:
The same narrative spread through a series of related posts, including the following examples.
Fact Check:
Kanjipani Imran Was Arrested in Dubai and Deported to Sri Lanka in 2019
Underworld gang leader and drug trafficker Mohamed Nazeem Mohamed Imran, better known as “Kanjipani Imran,” was arrested in Dubai and deported to Sri Lanka in 2019. On February 5, 2019, he and several others were detained by Dubai Police at a party hosted by underworld leader Makandure Madush. After his deportation from the UAE on March 28, 2019, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested him at Katunayake Airport. Mainstream media reported on this here and here.
He Was Held Under the PTA and Sentenced for Cannabis Trafficking
Immediately upon his return from Dubai on March 28, 2019, the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) produced him before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court, which formally authorized his detention and interrogation for three months under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). After that order expired, he remained in remand under PTA charges tied to an incident of death threats made against a police officer. On September 17, 2019, the Chief Magistrate of Colombo ordered his continued remand under the same case. On August 23, 2019, the Colombo High Court sentenced him to imprisonment for possessing and trafficking 5.3 kilograms of cannabis. Mainstream media reported on these developments here, here, here, and here.
The PTA Charges Were Reclassified and He Was Granted Bail
On the Attorney General’s advice that the death-threat charges against the police officer did not fall under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, police withdrew the PTA charges and instead charges were filed against him under the Penal Code. His lawyers then argued that, because ordinary law permitted bail in the case, bail should be granted. The Colombo Magistrate’s Court ordered his release on a personal bail bond of Rs. 5 million at the end of 2020. Mainstream media covered this here and here.
Kanjipani Imran Fled to India in December 2022, During Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Presidency
On December 20, 2022, after the PTA charges were reclassified under the ordinary Penal Code, the Chief Magistrate of Colombo ordered his release while impounding his passport and imposing a travel ban. Just days later, on December 25, 2022, he illegally fled by sea from the Talaimannar area to Rameswaram, in Tamil Nadu, India. Mainstream media reported on this here, here, here, and here.
Kanjipani Imran was granted bail on December 20, 2022, and fled the country on December 25. By that time, the government in power was not Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s but the administration led by President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Following Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation after the July 2022 uprising, Wickremesinghe was elected Sri Lanka’s 8th executive President by Members of Parliament on July 20, 2022, and was sworn in on July 21, 2022. Details of his swearing-in are here. The claim that Kanjipani Imran fled during Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s administration is therefore false.
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Conclusion:
Our fact-check shows that claims of criminal gang leader Kanjipani Imran being released and allowed to flee the country during former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s administration are misleading. A case filed against him under the Prevention of Terrorism Act was later reclassified under the Penal Code, on the Attorney General’s advice that the charges did not fall within the scope of the PTA.
He was granted bail on December 20, 2022, with a travel ban imposed, and fled the country five days later, on December 25. From July 20, 2022, Sri Lanka was governed by President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s administration, not Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s.
Title: Wrong President, Wrong Timeline: The Truth About Kanjipani Imran’s Escape
Fact Check By: B.P. Hansani
Result: Misleading
