A three-wheel driver by the name of Razik Mohammed Riyaz has told Police that he facilitated the sale of ‘heroin tablets’ worth Rs. 17, 000 to the two British rugby players, shortly before their deaths last month.

The two British players – 26-year-old Thomas Baty and 25-year-old Thomas Howard – from the Durham-based Clems Pirates RFC rugby team were in Sri Lanka for a friendly encounter.

Following the friendly match with the Ceylonese Rugby and Football Club (CR&FC) on Saturday (May 13), the two players had reportedly visited ‘Cleopatra’ a nightclub in Colombo.

They had returned to the Kingsbury Hotel later that night, but were taken to the Nawaloka Hospital in Colombo after complaining of ‘breathing difficulties’.

Howard died on Sunday (13), while Baty who was in critical condition at the hospital passed away on Tuesday (15).

 Initial postmortem reports indicated neither player had suffered external injuries, and body samples were retained for further analysis.

Police informed Colombo Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne they were not yet in possession of the results of the second analysis conducted on body samples of the two players.

However, police sleuths informed the Magistrate, a three-wheel driver by the name of Razik Mohammed Riyaz had testified that he had taken the two rugby players to Bambalapitiya, where they had bought a quantity of drugs from a dealer named ‘Sana’.

The three-wheel driver said he had picked the two men up from Colpetty, and when they had asked him where they could find ‘heroin tablets’ in Colombo, he had taken them to a place near the Bambalapitiya railway station where he had facilitated the deal.

The three-wheel driver said the two rugby players had used the light from their mobile phones to inspect the content of the packages, and upon being satisfied they were the heroin tablets they were after, had instructed him to take them to the Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo.

Colombo Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne decreed that facilitating the sale of drugs was a punishable crime and advised police to prosecute the three-wheel driver under the law.