2 Indian men were arrested by Sri Lanka Customs and handed over to the Police. (Representational)
Two Indian men have been sentenced to life terms in Sri Lanka for selling illegal drugs, the country's police said on Wednesday.
Dhanivel Mani and Lebbai Jalaluddin Mohifeen Mohadeem have been held in Sri Lanka since 2016.
They were sentenced by the Negombo High Court on Tuesday, after they admitted to selling heroin, police spokesperson Ruwan Gunasekera said.
They were arrested by the Sri Lanka Customs and handed over to the Police Narcotics Bureau.
The sentencing comes at a time when country's President, Maithripala Sirisena, is trying to renew capital punishment for drug-related crimes.
Mr Sirisena had recently signed four death warrants for drug-related crimes, a decision put on hold by the country's top court till October 30.
Mr Sirisena's decision came despite a UN moratorium on death penalty, which Sri Lanka has been a part of.
All of Mr Sirisena's presidential predecessors since 1978 had declined to sign death warrants as the capital punishments are conventionally commuted to life terms.
Mr Sirisena said he was "compelled" to reintroduce death penalty because of a growing menace of drugs-related crimes.