Edinburgh cannabis dealer took over vulnerable man's Leith flat and turned it into drug den

Nisala Kulatunga, 23, targeted the man by befriending him and then setting up a cannabis dealing business from his flat in the Leith area of Edinburgh.

The desperate victim repeatedly asked Kulatunga to move out but he refused and carried on selling drugs to users from the property between June and October 2022. The flat was eventually raided by police and when around £15,000 of the Class B drug was found the Sri Lankan drug dealer attempted to pin blame on the homeowner. 

Kulatunga pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cannabis at an address in Leith, Edinburgh, between June 1 and October 2, 2022, when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court earlier this year.

Prosecutor Clare Green told the court the victim was “particularly vulnerable” and suffered from “various mental health difficulties” and had allowed Kulatunga to move into his home in June 2022. Ms Green said Kulatunga had intentionally befriended the man by turning up at his door claiming he had been thrown out his flat and needed somewhere to stay “for a week or so”.

Nisala Kulatunga, 23, targeted the man by befriending him and then setting up a cannabis dealing business from his flat | Alexander Lawrie

The court was told the man allowed Kulatunga to move in on a temporary basis but the dealer soon took over the flat and moved all his belongings in and demanded a set of keys.

The vulnerable man became concerned after the dealer invited his friends into the flat and witnessed him selling drugs from “10am to midnight” almost every day of the week. The fiscal told the court the man had asked Kulatunga to move out “on a weekly basis” and had to seek medical attention due to the “impact on his mental well-being” when he was refused.

The victim was said to have eventually confided in friends at a local bakery who contacted the police on his behalf in October 2022. The flat was raided where “a strong smell of cannabis” was detected and during a search, officers discovered 1,240 grams of the drug said to have a street value of around £15,500.

Ms Green also said mobile phones seized from the property contained text messages that were “indicative of drug supply” and that Kulatunga had attempted to blame the man he was staying with.

The court heard forensic tests proved the DNA and fingerprints found on a rucksack and plastic bags of cannabis discovered in the flat belonged to Kulatunga.

Solicitor Michael Elliot, defending, said his client was an engineering student and had been sent back to Sri Lanka for a short time following his arrest to live with his father who is a naval officer.

Mr Elliott said Kulatunga, of Leith, Edinburgh, was “essentially a runner” for others higher up the drug supply chain. Kulatunga returned to the dock to be sentenced on Friday where Sheriff Alistair Noble said “a substantial amount of cannabis was found” and the offending had been committed over “a significant period of time”.

Sheriff Noble sentenced Kulatunga to a community payback order as a direct alternative to a custody where he will have to complete 300 hours of unpaid work, the maximum hours allowed to be imposed.