Several high-profile underworld figures, including the notorious criminal Mandinu Padmasiri alias ‘Kehelbaddara Padme,’ were brought back to Sri Lanka yesterday evening (30), following their recent arrest in Indonesia, according to the Police Media Unit.

A special Police team from Sri Lanka had been dispatched earlier yesterday to Jakarta to facilitate their return.

The team had taken custody of the suspects from Indonesian authorities and boarded a flight back to Sri Lanka. 

Upon arrival at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake, extra security measures had been put in place in anticipation of the arrival of these ‘most wanted’ individuals.

The arrested suspects, including Padmasiri and other gang members known as ‘Commando Salintha,’ ‘Backhoe Saman,’ ‘Thembili Lahiru,’ and ‘Kudu Nilantha,’ were to be escorted to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) under strict security after a brief detention at the airport.

Along with the suspects, a woman and a child who had been travelling with them had also been detained by Indonesian authorities. However, due to the lack of serious criminal charges, both had been deported to Sri Lanka last evening. 

The arrests had been made during a special operation carried out by Sri Lanka Police, in cooperation with Jakarta Police and Interpol. 

Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala has said that while 75 criminals who were currently overseas had red notices issued on them by Interpol, around 20 of them had been arrested by Sri Lankan authorities.