A 27-year-old Australian was found dead in a hotel room at R.A. De Mel Mawatha in Colombo yesterday, Police said.

They said the victim and an Australian couple had stayed in two rooms after arriving in the country on Monday night.

The body was found after the hotel owner informed the police that the guest had not left his room even by the time he was expected to check out.

Police said they had found some packets believed to be heroin inside the room and suspect that an overdose of the narcotic might led to the Australian’s death.  

The Magistraterial inquiry was carried out by the Colombo Fort Magistrate yesterday.

The body is lying at the police mortuary and that the postmortem examination would be carried out after the man’s relatives arrived in the country.(DS)