JUDGEMENT

The Accused Appellant (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Accused’) was indicted before the High Court of Galle for possession and Trafficking 382.3 g of heroin under Section 54A (d) & (b) of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, No. 13 of 1984, as amended.

At the trial, the prosecution led evidence through 7 witnesses and marking productions P1-P28, and thereafter closed its case. The Accused, in his defence, gave evidence in the witness box and called 3 witnesses in his defence. After the trial, the Learned High Court Judge found the accused guilty on both counts in the indictment and imposed the death sentence on 12.02.2021.

Being aggrieved by said judgment, this appeal was preferred by the Accused. The following Grounds of Appeal were urged by the counsel for the Accused.

(a) The learned High Court Judge has completely disregarded the suspicious nature of the informant who gave the tip-off and his heavy involvement in the case.

(b) The time difference and distance subsequent to the arrest do not support or confirm the prosecution's case but instead are in line with the defence evidence and corroborate what the defence alleges.

(C) The absence of any external evidence of the incident of arrest, apart from the evidence of the officials involved.

(d) The weight of the defence case

(e) The involvement and sudden release of Susil Kumarasiri

Facts and circumstances of the case are as follows

PW 01, IP Nihal Perera, testified that on 14th May 2001, at approximately 11:50 a.m., he received information from a private informant regarding Heroin in Galle. Pursuant to this information, a team of police officers proceeded to the Ranmal Hotel in Hikkaduwa. Subsequently, acting on further details provided by the same informant on 15th May 2001, at around 1:00 a.m., the witness, accompanied by 9 police officers, departed from the hotel to a location in Galle, which the informant identified as the residence of the Accused.

The witness, accompanied by Officer Thennakoon and the informant, proceeded approximately 300 m along Dangedara Hiribura Road towards the residence of the Accused. The other officers stayed in the jeep at the start of the road. At around 2:25 a.m., the witness observed the Accused opening the gate, upon which the informant identified him as the individual engaged in drug trafficking and subsequently departed. Moments later, the Accused stepped out through the gate, at which point the witness and Officer Thennakoon effected his arrest around 2:30 a.m. At the time of arrest, the Accused was carrying a black shopping bag in his right hand. Inside the bag was a nickel-coloured iron box, beneath which lay a cellophane bag containing drug substances. The nickel-coloured box also contained a scale with weights. Additionally, within one bag were two smaller bags—one light green and the other pink—which the witness identified as containing drugs. The witness summoned the other team, and although the house search yielded no illegal items, a person who was residing there was arrested on suspicion. Thereafter, both the seized material and the Accused were taken to the Police Narcotics Bureau at approximately 6:40 a.m., where the material was weighed and recorded as 1 kg and 80 g. After the production was handed over to the PW 11, PS Gurnaratne at the reserve.

During cross-examination, counsel for the Accused questioned the witness regarding the label affixed to the parcel. The witness stated that he could not recall whether he had glued or stapled the label.

Furthermore, the witness admitted that the productions remained in his possession and were not sealed until arrival in Colombo. He further stated that the production was recovered from the possession of the Accused and remained in his custody until he arrived in Colombo. He also affirmed the ownership of the house by Susil Kumarasiri, who was arrested in the said house. It is noteworthy that the defence primarily questioned him regarding the sealing kit, to which he explai