Author name: Tharindu Withanage

A team of officers of the Central Crime Investigation Bureau having inspected the premises of the Nagarawewa Birds Park in the Hambantota Police Area on 12.07.2025, seized 21 motorcycles manufactured in foreign countries that are prohibited from being imported into the country and were hidden in the bird feed storage facility. The manager and the storekeeper of the animal farm were also arrested with 04 cannabis plants that had been illegally cultivated in the said park premises. The suspects are 40 and 50-year-old residents of Matara and Middeniya areas.

Four people who were having a swim at the Etthukala beach on 06. 07. 2025 were caught in a rip current. Inspector of Police, Anuradha, Police Constable 99177 Lakshan and Police Constable 105320 Wijesinghe who were performing duty attached to the Police Lifeguard Unit saved four persons. Subsequently, the officers provided them with basic first aid. It has been reported that these individuals who are at the age of 20, 21, 22 and 34 years, are residents of Veyangoda, Pudaluoya and Namunukula areas 

On a piece of information received from Naval Intelligence officers, a team of officers from the Police Narcotics Bureau conducted a raid in the Wennappuwa Police Area on 02.07.2025 and arrested two suspects, who were transporting 913 kilograms and 124 grams of Kerala cannabis, 02 pistols manufactured in a foreign country, 04 magazines of the same, and 40 live ammunitions of the same in a cab. A suspect who has aided and abetted the crime along with the said cab was also taken into custody. The arrested suspects, aged 24, 48 and 51 years, are residents of the Nochchiyagama, Ulukkulama and Anuradhapura areas.  

Following the information that two individuals were fleeing after shooting a black colour luxury motor car with a T-56 firearm in the morning of 03 – 07 – 202, at the Kandana city center, immediate measures have been taken by police stations nearby to set up roadblocks in order to search for the suspects.   Accordingly, Officer-in-Charge of Traffic Unit of Dungalpitiya Police Station, Sub Inspector of Police, Mr. Thushara Karunathilaka, together with Police Constable 106749 Weeraratne and Police Constable 106816 Dissanayake, conducted a thorough search at roadblock in Lellama area.   Two men riding a red scooter-type motorcycle with a relatively large bag reached to roadblock in Lellama area from Mankuliya area around 12.40 pm. Police officers signaled the motorcycle to stop, but the motorcyclists disregarded the order and rode the motorcycle at high speed passing the roadblock.   Sub Inspector of Police, Mr. Thushara took immediately actions, disregarding the possible risk on his life, and started chasing the motorcyclists, who were suspected of be the shooters carrying a T-56 weapon. Two Police Constables followed the Officer Thushara with a T-56 weapon loaded with 30 bullets.   The suspects were riding their motorcycle at high speed on the Nelellawatta road that runs through Lellama and collided with a stationary lorry near the place called Morawala. The CCTV footage clearly shows that this occurred due to panic when they realized that their attempt to evade the pursuit of the Sub-Inspector of Police was futile.   When the Sub-Inspector of Police single-handedly grabbed the pillion rider by the neck and arrested him, the two constables who arrived shortly fired a T-56 bullet at the legs of the fleeing suspect who was the rider, as they were well aware of the the time and effort it would take to re-arrest him if he escaped.   As skilled police officers, they had been able to apprehend the fleeing suspects by incapacitating them. When checking the bag in possession of the suspects, a parcel of heroin and a toy pistol had been recovered.   The injured person was admitted to the hospital and is receiving treatment under police protection. As it has been revealed, he is a suspect who has been arrested several times by a number of police stations in the past for possession of cannabis and drugs and with cases pending in court.   Dungalpitiya Police Station has initiated further investigations into these two suspects and the crimes that they were planning to commit using the toy pistol.