Pharma Scandal: Lawyer Says CID Ignored Suspect's Mention of Ex-Minister

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Criminal Investigations Department once again questioned the owner of the company implicated in supplying counterfeit human immunoglobulin medicine to the Ministry of Health. 

The businessman, currently the prime suspect in the case, is being held on remand after his initial arrest.

Yesterday, following an order from Maligakanda Magistrate Lochani Abeywickrama, the CID team visited the suspect in his prison cell to record his latest statement. 

A Sri Lankan court is currently investigating a potentially dangerous transaction: the supply of Human Immunoglobulin, a crucial medicine for patients with serious neurological diseases, by a company lacking proper production approval.

By the time news of the near-billion-rupee deal broke, a staggering 40 million rupees had already been paid.

Shockingly, initial findings reveal the supplied medicines weren't genuine Human Immunoglobulin; instead, they contained saline or a similar substitute.

Isolez Biotech Pharma, the company embroiled in the pharmaceutical scandal, shockingly lacked the formal authorization to produce or supply Human Immunoglobulin.

Former Health Secretary Janaka Sri Chandragupta, the owner of Isolez Biotech Pharma Sudath Janaka Fernando, and ex-CEO of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority Dr. Vijith Gunasekara are among six people now in remand custody over the matter.

CID Detectives recorded a statement from ex-Health Minister Rambukwella on Tuesday at his official residence, and the statement was produced to court on Wednesday (27). 

During yesterday's court hearing, the counsel appearing for the owner of Isolez Biotech Pharma, Sudath Janaka Fernando, to the court that his client, in his statement to the Criminal Investigations Department, had mentioned that the medicine in question was supplied at the behest of then-Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella.

The counsel pointed out that the detectives from the CID had failed to include that statement in the report produced to the court.

The Magistrate had questioned if any of the six suspects in remand were required to revise their statements,  and only the first suspect, and the third suspect, a female officer attached to the Medical Supplies Division, stepped forward.

Following the Magistrate's approval to visit Magazine Prison in Colombo today, two CID officers recorded the first suspect's statement this afternoon.