Police have uncovered significant information from the suspects arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a lawyer and his wife at a parking lot of a supermarket in Akuregoda on February 13.
Acting on the directives of the Inspector General of Police, 12 police teams were deployed to conduct investigations, leading to the arrest of nine suspects, including one of the gunmen.
Among those initially arrested were two brothers from Athurugiriya who allegedly transported the firearm used in the killing and provided information about the lawyer’s vehicle. A suspect identified as “Polgasowita Dila,” believed to have coordinated the crime, was also taken into custody during preliminary investigations.
Meanwhile, officers from the Police Special Task Force’s Southern Province Special Operations Unit arrested six more suspects yesterday (22) in Ethkandura, Kahaduwa for aiding and abetting the crime.
Investigations have further revealed that the individual who transported one of the gunmen to a hotel in Pannipitiya had fled to Thailand via the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA).
Meanwhile, in a major breakthrough, one of the gunmen was arrested yesterday at around 6.20 p.m. in Delduwa, Ambalangoda, by a team of officers from the Homagama Divisional Crime Investigation Bureau.
Police said investigations have confirmed that the suspect used a T-56 assault rifle to shoot the lawyer.
The suspect has been identified as a 46-year-old former Army serviceman who obtained legal discharge from the military during the 2009 general amnesty period, police said.
He was arrested while lodging at a friend’s house in Delduwa, Ambalangoda, and working in a nearby cinnamon estate.
A senior police officer stated that during initial questioning, the suspect admitted to carrying out the killing. He had reportedly informed investigators that after the shooting, he got off a car near Kottawa and travelled to Ambalangoda by bus.
Police also said the suspect is a drug addict and had maintained direct links with an underworld figure known as “Karandeniya Sudda.”
According to investigators, the suspect had claimed that the murder was carried out on a contract given to him over the phone by Karandeniya Sudda. He further stated that after the killing, he was paid Rs. 1 million and a stock of heroin.
Investigations have revealed that the suspect had previously received money from the same underworld figure whenever required. Police suspect that he had been operating as a contract killer for Karandeniya Sudda.
However, no other murders allegedly linked to the suspect have been uncovered so far.
The arrested suspect was taken to the Western Province South Crime Division last night for further investigations.
