Motorcyclist arrested in connection with the murder of Police Inspector D. Balendrasinghe.

Sri Lanka Police has taken into custody the individual suspected of transporting the gunman involved in the fatal shooting of Police Inspector D. Balendrasinghe, who was actively engaged in operations targeting organized crime.

Police Inspector Balendrasinghe was shot and killed by an unidentified assailant on 9 October 2023 in the Karagoda area of Galle.

The suspect, a 38-year-old resident of Meetiyagoda, was arrested by the Central Crime Investigation Bureau on 9 May 2026 and is currently being detained and questioned.

He was initially taken into custody on charges of possessing crystal methamphetamine (“Ice”). During subsequent investigations, officers recovered the following items concealed in a cinnamon estate in the Kiralagahawela area of Meetiyagoda on 11 May 2026:

* One T-56 assault rifle
* Fifteen live rounds of ammunition
* One spent cartridge casing

The suspect remains under detention orders while investigators examine whether the recovered firearm was used in the murder of Police Inspector D. Balendrasinghe.

Further investigations are being conducted by officers of the Central Crime Investigation Bureau.