An Egyptian filmmaker alleged that professional camera equipment worth about US$ 115,000 was stolen from his hotel room in Colombo, with the case reportedly referred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) after he lodged a complaint with the Tourist Police.
Ramy Azzam Mohamed Mustafa, who owns an Egyptian camera equipment rental company, told The Daily Morning that the incident occurred on 4 October, and that, after initial Police inquiries, the matter was transferred to the local Police before a volunteer lawyer referred it to the CID.
He lodged a complaint with the Tourist Police at the Bandaranaike International Airport (TCIB 25/37) on 5 October. He also lodged a complaint with the Police Tourist Division (CIB14/14) on the same day. The stolen equipment reportedly includes a Sony FX6 camera, six Sony G Master lenses and a Cooke S4/i cinema lens kit. He said that the equipment belonged to his company and had to be returned. According to him, the matter began when he was contacted by a person using a Dubai based mobile number regarding the rental of camera equipment for a filming project in Egypt.
Following initial negotiations, he said that he was asked to travel to Sri Lanka for the shoot, with arrangements reportedly made for the team to travel to the Maldives before returning to Egypt and returning the rented equipment. Azzam alleged that, upon arriving in Sri Lanka, he met a man who was not the person with whom he had initially negotiated the arrangement. He described the man as a Pakistani and said that the individual, whom he identified as Sameer, took him to a hotel on Marine Drive in Colombo.
According to him, the hotel room was booked under his name, while the man allegedly arranged for him to stay there without charge for several weeks. He said that he subsequently left the room with his camera equipment inside. He alleged that, while he was away, the man entered the room and removed the equipment without his knowledge or consent. He said that he had closed circuit television camera footage showing a person entering the room shortly after his departure and leaving with bags believed to contain the equipment. He said that the incident had left him stranded in Sri Lanka, where he is currently staying in low-cost accommodation while trying to recover the equipment.
When contacted by The Daily Morning, the Officer-in-Charge of the Tourist Police did not provide details of the investigation and requested that the newspaper submit its questions by electronic mail. He said that there are hundreds of missing cameras reported to them by tourists and that he has to verify the details of this particular case. The Deputy Inspector General of Police overseeing the Tourist Police said that he would look into the matter and provide an update but had no information about it when called.