A suspect wanted in the recent triple murder at Middeniya, has been arrested in India and repatriated to Sri Lanka by officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
Sri Lanka Police said that the individual in custody is believed to be the motorcyclist involved in the shooting incident.
The shooting occurred on the night of February 18, targeting a man travelling by motorcycle with his two children near the Kadewatta Junction in Middeniya.
The target of the shooters, an individual known as “Kajja” who was riding the motorcycle, was killed on the spot. His son and daughter, who were critically injured, were rushed to the Embilipitiya and Tangalle hospitals.
Despite receiving medical treatment, the six-year-old daughter succumbed to her injuries shortly after being admitted to the Tangalle Hospital, while the nine-year-old son died the following day.
Police suspect that the murder was orchestrated as revenge for stealing a parcel of Cannabis belonging to a notorious drug trafficker infamously known as “Backhoe Saman”.
According to police, the gunman—who was arrested along with nine others—confessed that he carried out the execution on a contract from “Backhoe Saman” due to his own mounting personal debt.
