Alleged drug kingpin fatally shot inside Sri Lankan court

Policemen arrive at the chief magistrate’s court as a Sri Lankan man accused of being a top drug dealer was shot dead in Colombo on February 19, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AFP

A gunman dressed as a lawyer fatally shot a key suspect inside a Sri Lankan courthouse, police said on Wednesday (February 19, 2025).

Ganemulle Sanjeeva, allegedly a drug dealer, was shot at close range, just when he entered the dock at the Colombo Magistrates Court during a bail hearing, according to media reports. Sanjeeva was critically injured in the shooting incident and rushed to a hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. The shocking incident during proceedings, that exposed a serious security failure, drew wide media attention in the island nation.

Addressing the media, a police spokesman said a woman dressed as a lawyer had helped the gunman by bringing the revolver — hidden inside a copy of the Code of Criminal Procedure whose pages had been hollowed out to fit the weapon — into the court premises.

“We have recovered a revolver used in the shooting. The gunman has been identified,” Sunil Watagala, a junior Minister for Public Security, told reporters after the incident. The man had escaped the court premises soon after the incident.

Police media spokesman Buddhika Manatunga told reporters that both suspects were identified and that steps were in place to ensure they do not flee the country. Five police teams are probing the incident and the police are confident of a “quick arrest”, he said.

At least nine people have been killed in a spate of shootings this year in the island nation blamed on gang rivalry, news agency AFP reported, citing police data.