• 38-yr.-old with org.-crime links arrested 
• Lankan trio from Dondra/Ratmalana/Kotahena nabbed in Bengaluru over drugs, murder, etc.
• 4 remanded over Tangalle drug bust
• Backhoe Saman’s wife’s mobile phones under probe

A suspect has been arrested by the Colombo North Division Crimes Investigation Unit along with a stock of hashish, heroin, and narcotic pills, the Police stated. Based on received intelligence, a raid was carried out on Monday (29) by a team of officers along the Siriwardana Road in Mattakkuliya. During the raid, a suspect was arrested with 33 kilograms (kg) and 270 grams (g) of hashish, 408 g of heroin and 7,400 pieces of heroin (charas), and 200 narcotic pills prepared for sale. He was then presented to the Mattakkuliya Police Station. The suspect is a 38-year-old resident of Samithpura, Mattakkuliya. Investigations have revealed that the suspect is an associate of an organised criminal and drug trafficker in the area.

Meanwhile, three Sri Lankans who were allegedly involved in crimes have been arrested by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of Bengaluru, India. The three Sri Lankans were allegedly staying illegally in an apartment near Devanahalli in Bengaluru, Indian media reports state. Police suspect that they were hiding in the city for several months. The accused, aged 29, 31, and 41 are residents of Dondra, Ratmalana and Kotahena. Investigations have revealed that the trio entered India illegally from Jaffna to Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, last year, after which they briefly stayed in Chennai and Coimbatore before moving to Bengaluru. None of them had valid documents, including passports. One of the arrested suspects is wanted in a drug-peddling case while another is facing charges of murder and other offences in Sri Lanka. The CCB has taken the trio into custody and are trying to identify the person who arranged their stay in Bengaluru and helped secure the apartment, Indian media reported. The Sri Lankan High Commission has been contacted for further information, a senior Police Officer has said.

Elsewhere, the four suspects arrested in connection with the recent discovery of a haul of heroin and crystal methamphetamine (commonly known as ‘Ice’) in Seenimodara, Tangalle on 24 September have been remanded. The order was issued when the group was produced before the Tangalle Magistrate’s Court (MC) on Monday. Accordingly, the four suspects were remanded until 13 October. Police arrested four suspects including the two sons of an individual who died after being hospitalised from a house in Seenimodara, on 22 September, where a large haul of narcotics was found in three lorries. According to the Police, the estimated street value of the drugs found in the three lorries is approximately Rs. 9,888 million. The seized narcotics included a total of 705.91 kg, comprising 284.94 kg of heroin and 420.976 kg of ‘Ice’. The seizure was made during a special operation conducted based on information received following the suspicious deaths of two individuals found inside the house. During the search, the Police also recovered a Type-56 assault rifle and five unpacked pistols. Police investigations revealed that the seized drug stock belongs to an organised crime suspect known by the alias ‘Unakuruwa Shantha’, who is suspected to be operating drug-trafficking activities from abroad. The individual who died while receiving treatment at the hospital has been identified as ‘Unakuruwa Thusitha’, believed to be the local operator of Unukuruwa Shantha’s drug distribution network in Sri Lanka. 

Furthermore, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) informed the Colombo MC on Monday that an inquiry is being conducted pertaining to the mobile phones belonging to the wife of the organised crime suspect known by the alias ‘Backhoe Saman’, Shadhika Lakshani, who is currently detained under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The complaint was filed by the CID and was called before Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanka S. Bodaragama through a motion. During the proceedings, the Police informed Court that the suspect had two mobile phones in her possession at the time of the arrest, which contained her ‘passwords’ and that the passwords need to be removed. Police stated that the two mobile phones will be sent to the CID’s Forensic Laboratory for further investigation related to the incident. The suspect, who was recently taken into custody in Indonesia and brought to Sri Lanka, is being investigated by the CID for possible involvement with a drug-trafficking network operating in Middeniya. The Chief Magistrate had instructed the CID during the previous hearing date to submit a comprehensive report to the Court on the next hearing date regarding the existing evidence against the suspect.

(With input from the Times of India)