-By Defence Correspondent
(Lanka-e-News -25.March.2025, 11.10 PM) Dubai—a city of glitz, glamour, and… gangsters? While the world knows it for its luxury shopping, breathtaking skyscrapers, and futuristic ambitions, Sri Lanka knows it for something else: a safe haven for its most dangerous criminals.
It’s almost poetic, really. A place where you can buy a $200,000 Rolex, ski indoors, and sip gold-plated cappuccinos is also the remote-control room for Sri Lanka’s underworld. Every gangland murder in Colombo? Every drug shipment that floods Sri Lanka’s streets? Every politician getting ominous phone calls at midnight? Trace the calls, follow the money, and the pin on the map always lands in Dubai.
Now, to be fair, Dubai isn’t entirely clueless. Its police force is one of the most technologically advanced in the world, with artificial intelligence, facial recognition, and surveillance systems that can probably tell what you had for breakfast. They can catch a jaywalker from space, but somehow, they can’t seem to track a Sri Lankan gangster operating a multi-million-dollar drug empire from a penthouse in Deira.
Strange, isn’t it?
Perhaps Dubai’s logic is simple: “Well, these guys haven’t committed crimes here. They haven’t even squashed a mosquito in our country.” Which is technically true. But let’s be honest—if a group of foreign criminals were using Sri Lanka as a base to run a global syndicate, wouldn’t there be outrage? Wouldn’t there be action?
Dubai, for all its grand visions and law-and-order image, has somehow mastered the art of selective blindness when it comes to foreign criminals. Sri Lankan gangsters aren’t just living there; they’re thriving.
Sri Lankan criminals in Dubai don’t just “get by.” They live like kings. The same men who once carried machetes through Colombo’s dark alleys are now strolling through Dubai Mall in designer suits, sipping on overpriced lattes, and driving Bentleys with vanity plates.
How do they afford this lifestyle?
Who’s facilitating their financial transactions?
Why does Dubai, a self-proclaimed modern, law-abiding city, allow them to operate?
There’s no shortage of irony here. Dubai has strict labor laws that make sure a South Asian construction worker gets paid next to nothing, while another South Asian—who just happens to be a drug lord—can launder millions through high-end properties and fake businesses.
The issue isn’t just about the gangsters themselves. It’s about what’s being done—or more accurately, not done—with the money they bring in.
Sri Lanka’s underworld thrives on Dubai’s financial system. Drug money, extortion funds, ransom payments—these are all funneled through Dubai’s banks, property market, and gold trade. And the authorities? Well, they’re busy cracking down on social media influencers for violating “decency” laws, while actual criminals are sipping cocktails by the Burj Khalifa.
This is where Dubai needs to choose:
Does it want to be a global financial hub, respected for its transparency and integrity?
Or does it want to be the world's most luxurious criminal headquarters?
Because right now, it’s looking like the latter.
Sri Lanka may be small, but it’s not without options. If Dubai continues to provide a safe space for criminals who destroy lives in Sri Lanka, there are consequences:
International Pressure – If Sri Lanka reports Dubai to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), it could result in international banking restrictions, making it harder for Dubai to keep up its high-flying lifestyle.
Public Naming and Shaming – The Sri Lankan media and international watchdogs could start exposing the specific names of criminals and their Dubai-based operations, tarnishing the city’s reputation.
Diplomatic Pressure – Sri Lanka’s government could push for international sanctions on individuals and businesses facilitating these criminal enterprises.
Dubai likes to market itself as the future—progressive, innovative, and a shining example of what a modern city should be. But you can’t have it both ways. You can’t boast about law and order while providing a free pass to international criminals.
The message is simple: Stop turning a blind eye. Clean up the mess. Or deal with the fallout.
And next time a Sri Lankan journalist or politician gets a death threat from a Dubai phone number, maybe—just maybe—someone should answer the call.
-By Defence Correspondent
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by (2025-03-25 17:42:12)
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