Police suspect that the shooting incident on Watarappala road in Mount Lavinia which claimed the lives of two, is tied to a longstanding feud between two suspected drug traffickers known by the aliases ‘Badowita Asanka’ and ‘Kosmalli’, both of whom are believed to be operating from overseas. 

Two individuals were killed in a shooting incident early Tuesday (7) morning, which had been carried out by two unidentified gunmen. According to the Police, the gunmen had arrived at a residence on a motorcycle at around 4.25 a.m. and opened fire using a nine millimetre pistol and a homemade ‘galkatas’ handgun. The victims have been identified as Sudath Gomes alias ‘Mano’, 36, who died on the spot, and Chanaka Vimukthi alias ‘Sandun’, 20, who succumbed to his injuries after being admitted to the Colombo South Teaching Hospital, Kalubowila.

Police allege that the attack was carried out by associates of ‘Kosmalli’, as the two victims had connections with ‘Badowita Asanka’. Additionally, the Police noted that the shooting occurred in the wake of the arrests of the grandmother and a brother of one of the shooting victims in connection with the drug trade on Monday (6) night.