Author name: Tharindu Withanage

Several taxi drivers had recently lodged complaints with the Wellawatte and Maradana police stations in Colombo regarding a man who had entered a taxi, claiming to need a ride, and then stole their mobile phone before fleeing. The officers, including the OIC of the Crime Division of the Fort Police Station, IP Rohana, who conducted the investigation, arrested the suspect on 11.04.2025 and obtained a 6-day detention order. During further investigations, it was revealed that he is a prime suspect in other crimes in addition to stealing mobile phones. Among them are the theft of Rs. 150,000/= by entering a house in Wellawatte under the pretext of wanting to rent a house, the theft of an ATM card which has been reported to the Wellawatte Police Station, and the theft of money while on a rental car trip. The Fort Police Station is conducting further investigations with regard to the suspect.  

During raids carried out in the areas of Negombo, Kaluwapitiya and Gangodella Road on the morning of 19.04.2025, officers of the Western Province North Crime Division have arrested two suspects with 122 kilograms and 970 grams of Kerala cannabis and an amount of Rs. 961,000 in cash suspected to have been earned from smuggling of Kerala cannabis. They are aged 25 and 48 years and have been identified as residents of the Pitipana area in Negombo. Further investigations regarding them are carried out by the Western Province North Crime Division.

50 live cartridges used for the T-56 firearm and a sharp weapon that could be used for a certain crime have been taken into custody of the Athurugiriya Police Station on 17.04.2025. These cartridges and the weapon have been recovered based on information revealed during investigations carried out on a suspect detained under a detention order who was arrested with 11 grams and 100 milligrams of the ice narcotic by the officers at the Athurugiriya Police Station on 12.04.2025. Further investigations on the suspect, who is a 25-year-old resident of the Athurugiriya area, are carried out by the Athurugiriya Police Station.

During the ongoing crime and drug prevention operations conducted by the Sri Lanka Police island-wide, as instructed by the acting Inspector General of Police, officers from the Kirulapana Police Station inspected a three-wheeler near the Thunmodara junction-Kirulapana on the morning of 13.04.2025 and arrested two individuals who were behaving suspiciously. An amount of Rs 5,745,000 was found in the possession of these suspects, and according to the investigations carried out, it has been revealed that one of them is running a store which sells LP gas while engaged in illegal drug trafficking. Accordingly, further investigations have been initiated to uncover information regarding whether this money was earned from illegal drug trafficking or whether it was earned by running the store by arresting one suspect for money laundering and the other suspect for aiding and abetting money laundering. These suspects aged 49 and 39 are residents of Siddhartha Road, Kirulapana.

Five suspects, including the shooter, have been arrested in connection with the double homicide that has been committed in front of the gate of the Devinuwara Dewalaya in Gandara on the night of 21. 03. 2025. Based on information disclosed by a suspect detained under a detention order during interrogation by officers of the Homicides & Organised Crime Investigation Division, investigation officers were able to find a T-56 firearm and its magazine, suspected to have been used in the shooting, hidden in a house on Yatiyana Road, Kekanadura, on the morning of 12. 04. 2025 and also based on the information revealed, another T-56 type firearm, suspected to have been used in the crime, along with a magazine containing five live bullets, was found hidden in a house in the Gandara Delgalla area belonging to a suspect in custody on the evening of 12. 04. 2025, and was taken into police custody. Further investigations are underway to disclose information regarding any other crimes committed using these deadly firearms.

More than 10,000 police officers have been deployed for the safety of the devotees and traffic control during the “Siri Dalada Wandana” which will commence from 18.04.2025. In order to provide the necessary services for the convenience of the devotees arriving to pay obeisance to the sacred Tooth Relic, and to help them work in collaboration with the police, officers of the Information Technology Division of the Sri Lanka Police have introduced a new system. Through this system, devotees can access information and instructions regarding the exposition of the sacred Tooth Relic by accessing the webpage named “Siri Dalada Vandana” (https://daladadekma.police.lk) through the official webpage of the Sri Lanka Police. Devotees who come on a pilgrimage can get information through this system regarding the availability of parking spaces in the city and the nearest parking lot available from the end of the respective queues of devotees, and can direct their vehicles to those parking lots accordingly. Furthermore, since this system is constantly updated by the police officers who manage the parking lots, it is possible to monitor the available parking spaces in the parking lots and the live status of the queues of devotees. This application has been developed in collaboration with officers attached the Information Technology Division of the Sri Lanka Police to minimize possible congestion by avoiding the inconveniences faced by the devotees. This application will allow the devotees to get live information on times during which rituals for the Sacred Tooth Relic are performed, instructions on the steps to be taken for the personal safety of devotees, instructions to be followed by devotees during the sacred exposition, and the times reserved for exposition of sacred Tooth Relic. Therefore, devotees can save their time and minimize possible congestion by obtaining latest updates on the exposition of the sacred Tooth Relic through the official website of Sri Lanka Police. To access the system:  Log into police website, www.police.lk and click on “Siri Dalada Vandana” or https://daladadekma.police.lk

A stash of narcotics – ice weighing 65 kilograms and 720 grams, and a stash of heroin weighing 52 kilograms and 280 grams, were apprehended from a vehicle near the entrance to the Fishery Harbour Kudawella in Tangalle, by two officers of the Tangalle Police Station who were on traffic duty at around 01.00 a.m. on 13.04.2025, during a random inspection conducted on a lorry.  This stash of narcotics had been found inside 49 packets of heroin, packed in around 07 bags of fertiliser. Having arrested the driver of this lorry and his assistant along with 02 satellite phones and narcotics, they were produced to the Tangalle Police Station.  The Tangalle Police Station has initiated further investigations to arrest the other suspects involved in this.

The Acting IGP has instructed senior officers and OICs through a special message to take measures to identify and subdue organized drug trafficking networks which involves in smuggling, transporting, trafficking and keeping possession of narcotics. In addition to that, strict measures are to be taken to plan the task in connection with implementing further legal action in this regard. Accordingly, instructions have been given to collect intelligence information on Police Division level with effect from 13.04.2025. Subsequently, having identified drug networks currently active in Police Areas, special operations covering all territorial Police Divisions are to be conducted to arrest such them. Instructions have been given to deploy permanent and immediate roadblocks, and to conduct raids and patrols in accordance with existing legal provisions. During such operation, officers of Police Special Task Force and Military Units, as well as the Police K9, will be deployed, if needed. Further instructions have been given to obtain a detention order from the Court in cases where the allocated time is not sufficient for the investigations conducted on suspects arrested in connection with drug trafficking. If it discovered during the investigations against drug traffickers that suspects have earned any property through drug trafficking, a separate investigation should be conducted under the Money Laundering Act. For this purpose, steps will be taken to refer the investigations to the Criminal Investigation Department.