Author name: Tharindu Withanage

A group of wanted suspects known by the aliases Kehelbaddara Padme, Commando Salintha, Backhoe Saman, and Nilanga, have been arrested through a joint special operation carried out in Indonesia by Interpol, a special team of the Sri Lanka Police, and a team of the Indonesian police, after it was revealed that a group of Sri Lankan organized criminals was residing in Indonesia.   Another woman with them has also been taken into custody.

The suspect involved in the incident of obstructing police duty by assaulting and injuring a police officer on duty during the protest held in front of the Fort Magistrate’s Court on 26.08.2025 regarding former President Ranil Wickremesinghe was arrested by the Colombo Crimes Division on 27.08.2025 in Kalutara town. The suspect is a 52-year-old former Pradeshiya Sabha member residing in Nagoda, Kalutara. The Kompannavidiya Police Station is conducting further investigations into the suspect and the incident. 

Police officers exert themselves day and night towards the successful completion of an investigation they have either initiated or participated in, no matter how difficult it is. It is a natural desire to hold the fond memory of professional achievements and to see justice being served to an aggrieved party.  One such feat is the investigation conducted by Wellawatta Police Station for 10 days to uncover the three suspects who robbed a lady doctor, who remained near a bus stop in the Wellawatte Police Area, of her property and cash worth nearly Rs. 453,000, including a bag containing a laptop and the gold necklace she was wearing, by holding her at knifepoint on 15.08.2025 at around 04.25 a.m. Having identified the suspects, fleeing on a motorcycle, with the help of CCTV footages, the investigation officers have monitored various footages retrieved with difficulty from around 500 CCTV cameras installed on major roads and by-roads for 10 days, covering a distance of about 73 kilometres, in the hope that the suspects will eventually stop somewhere. Finally, the two suspects have been arrested in the Eheliyagoda area, and the officers have been able to take the stolen laptop and gold necklace into their custody. It has been revealed that one suspect is a 44-year-old resident of Avissawella and the other is a 40-year-old resident of Eheliyagoda. Further investigation is underway to find the third suspect and other property and cash.

In the early hours of 24.08.2025, 02 men arrived in a three-wheeler and opened fire on two pedestrians walking along Malani Bulathsinhala Mawatha, Boralesgamuwa, and from the shooting, one died and the other got injured. Investigations into this incident have been carried out by the Western Province South Range Crime Division and the Police Special Task Force, and based on a piece of information disclosed, a group of officers attached to the Moratuwa Camp of the Police Special Task Force arrested the alleged gunman in connection to this crime in Nawinna of Maharagama Police area in the evening on 25.08.2025. At the time of arrest, 20 grams and 550 milligrams of heroin were in the possession of the suspect. The 24-year-old suspect, who is a resident of Colombo 13, has been handed over to the Western Province South Range Crime Division for carrying out further investigations. Further investigations are being conducted by the Western Province South Range Crime Division.

A male suspect and a female suspect have been arrested on the morning of 26.08.2025 by the Western Province South Crime Division, which is conducting investigations into the unidentified gunman and motorcyclist who shot and attempted to murder a man at a house on Station Road in the Dehiwala Police Area on 18.07.2025. According to the information revealed, they had aided and abetted the crime. The 23-year-old suspect, who is a resident of the Polgasowita area, was arrested in the Boralesgamuwa area. At the time of arrest, he was in possession of 12 grams and 20 milligrams of the narcotic ice. The female suspect, who was arrested in the Delgahawatta, Halpita area, is a 38-year-old resident of the Kesbewa area.  The Western Province South Crime Division is conducting further investigations into the crime.

A suspect who was staying in the Vavuniya Police Division for defrauding about 150 people of about Rs. 150 million by promising them jobs in the Korean state was arrested by officers of the Colombo Central Divisional Criminal Investigation Bureau on the morning of 24.08.2025. The arrest was made in the Tharekulam area of Puwarasankulam, Vavuniya and the suspect has been produced at the Kompanyaveediya Police Station, where the complaint was received.  He is a 41-year-old resident of Colombo 15. A jeep, an attorney’s license related to a land and two mobile phones suspected to have been purchased with the defrauded money have been taken into police custody from the suspect’s possession.  The Colombo Central Divisional Criminal Investigation Bureau is conducting further investigations.

The gunman who carried out a shooting targeting a businessman residing in the Kapugama of the Gandara Police Area on the morning of 03.08.2025 using a T-56 type firearm, together with the motorcyclist who transported him, was taken into custody by the Matara Divisional Crime Bureau on the morning of 24.08.2025 at the Wellampitiya area and at Imbulgoda, Ganemulla respectively. The said businessman sustained minor injuries as a result of the shooting. Preliminary investigations have revealed that the gunman is a 47-year-old resident of the Wellampitiya area who had deserted from the army, and the motorcyclist is a 28-year-old resident of the Peliyagoda area, and that the crime had been orchestrated by a drug trafficker residing overseas. The suspects have been identified as individuals heavily addicted to drug use. Guided by them, the police took into their custody 4,230 milligrams of narcotic ice, the clothing worn during the crime, and mobile phones found at the location in the Dewinuwara area where they had waited to commit the crime and further investigations are underway.