“Harak Kata” and “Kudu Salindu” to be detained for 90 days

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has obtained an order under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) to detain and interrogate the two notorious drug dealers Nadun Chinthaka alias “Harak Kata” and Salindu Malshika alias “Kudu Salindu” for a period of 90 days.

The criminal duo was repatriated to the island from Madagascar this morning (March 15).

The CID dispatched a team, comprising an Assistant Superintendent of Police and an Inspector of Police of the CID and two Special Task Force personnel, to Madagascar earlier this week to repatriate Sri Lankan drug kingpin “Harak Kata” and his infamous accomplice “Kudu Salindu” who were arrested while on a visit to the Indian Ocean island off the southeastern coast of Africa.

After being extradited from Madagascar, the criminal duo was brought to India’s Mumbai International Airport via Kenya’s Nairobi and was supposed to be repatriated to Sri Lanka on Tuesday (March 14). The CID team was forced to defer the repatriation by one day due to a flight delay.

Escorted by the CID team and two defence officials from Madagascar, “Harak Kata” and “Kudu Salindu” arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) from Mumbai, at around 7.10 a.m. this morning.

After being held at the airport for nearly 30 minutes, the duo was produced before the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) of Colombo, before being escorted under tight security to the CID headquarters in Colombo for onward investigations.

It was reported that the security had been beefed up near the Katunayake airport premises ahead of the arrival of the notorious criminal duo.

On March 08, the defence officials in Madagascar officially informed the Foreign Ministry of Sri Lanka of the arrest of 08 suspects including “Kudu Salindu”, “Harak Kata”, a Malagasy woman who claims to be his wife and her father.

They had been arrested in Madagascar on March 01, in a joint operation conducted by the National Central Bureau (NCB) of the INTERPOL, Madagascar’s law enforcement authorities and Customs officials. The INTERPOL had previously issued Red Notices against “Harak Kata” and “Kudu Salindu”.

During his stay in Madagascar, “Harak Kata” had posed as a wealthy businessman while “Kudu Salindu” and the others pretended to be his bodyguards.

The extradition process was coordinated by the Sri Lankan High Commission in Victoria, Seychelles, as Sri Lanka does not have an embassy or a high commission in Madagascar.

“Harak Kata” who operates his drug syndicate in Dubai, Malaysia, Singapore, Seychelles, the Maldives and Madagascar was previously arrested at the Dubai International Airport in August 2022. 

However, he had changed his name to Herath Dissanayakage Roshan Isanka in the passport which was found on him at the time of his arrest in Dubai. The Dubai Police had released “Harak Kata” on October 03, 2022, as they were unable to complete the legal matters pertaining to his deportation.

“Harak Kata” had been wanted by Sri Lanka Police for his involvement in five murders, 06 robberies and transnational drug trafficking. He has reportedly smuggled in nearly 670kg of heroin to Sri Lanka via sea routes.

Meanwhile, “Kudu Salindu” is accused of orchestrating at least 09 murders and fatally injuring four others.

Against this backdrop, the mother of “Kudu Salindu” filed a writ application before the Court of Appeal, raising deep concerns about the potential threats to her son’s life. She has sought interim orders directing the CID to ensure her son’s safety. When the writ application was called before the Appeals Court, the Deputy Solicitor General who appeared on behalf of the Attorney General requested the judge bench to dismiss the petition at first instance, without taking it up for hearing.