Chief Inspector Gamage Nilantha, who served as the OIC of the Mount Lavinia Crimes Investigation Unit and carried out many raids and operations pertaining to the arrests of drug traffickers, has been transferred to Negombo.

Accordingly, Police sources revealed that the senior officer, who also carried out the arrest of ‘Kotiya’ in connection with the murder of former Dehiwala - Mount Lavinia Municipal Council member Ranjan de Silva, was transferred unanticipatedly.

They further revealed that such transfers are likely the work of organised crime syndicates of the underworld, explaining that such transfers were orchestrated by these criminals in a bid to evade arrest.

Members of such syndicates allegedly take hold of and later coerce officers of the police intelligence units into submitting reports containing false information on certain officers responsible for successful drug raids and operations in this regard to senior officials, which ultimately result in such unorthodox transfers, Police sources claimed.

Malindu Lakmal, alias ‘Kotiya’, was arrested by Chief Inspector Gamage Nilantha in January this year over the murder of Ranjan de Silva, father of Sri Lankan cricketer Dhananjaya de Silva, who was gunned down in May 2018.

‘Kotiya’ is a known associate of the ill-famed underworld figure Sinhara Amal Saminda Silva, alias ‘Kudu Anju’, who is currently in the custody of the French Police. Thus, subsequent to ‘Kotiya’s’ arrest, the Chief Inspector had reportedly received a threatening phone call, while graffiti of this nature had also been left on the walls of his house.

Chief Inspector Gamage, who had also carried out operations pertaining to the arrest of ‘Badowita Nalin’, also an associate of ‘Kudu Anju’, and the prevention of several other underworld activities within the Mt. Lavinia police division, later informed the Kesbewa court of the threats received.

However, Police sources claim that the transfer was likely due to the Chief Inspector’s extensive involvement in apprehending those related to the underworld and organised crime syndicates, and thus urge that senior police officials tend to this racket immediately.