Four suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder of Damith Prasad Fonseka, alias ‘Bhootha Kaluwa’, the brother-in-law of alleged organized crime figure ‘Kos Malli’.
The arrests were made during a raid conducted by the Mount Lavinia Divisional Crime Investigation Bureau, police said.
Police also seized more than 21 grams of 'Ice' (crystal methamphetamine), four swords and several other weapons, along with four mobile phones from the suspects at the time of their arrest.
According to the police, a four-member group wearing face coverings arrived at the victim’s residence in a three-wheeler at around 1.45 a.m. on September 7. The group then broke into the house and attacked ‘Bhootha Kaluwa’ with sharp weapons while he was asleep in bed before fleeing the scene.
The deceased, a 46-year-old resident of Oban Place, Dehiwala, had reportedly lived in Dubai for several years with ‘Kos Malli’. Police investigations have revealed that he had returned to Sri Lanka several weeks ago after reportedly becoming paralysed while in Dubai.
Using CCTV footage, police obtained an image of a person suspected to have been involved in the murder and forwarded it to the Police Criminal Records Division in Colombo for further investigation.
The Police Criminal Records Division had reportedly confirmed that the appearance of the individual in the image was approximately 65% similar to a person residing in the Angulana area, who is allegedly linked to several crimes, police said.
The suspect was subsequently arrested, and during questioning, he reportedly confessed and revealed that four other individuals had accompanied him to carry out the murder.
Police said investigations had further revealed that one of those individuals was allegedly a key associate of ‘Sando’, a large-scale drug trafficker who is currently believed to be hiding overseas.
According to information obtained during the investigation, the suspect was identified as an individual known as ‘Sanju’, believed to reside in a Thelawela housing scheme.
Following his arrest and questioning, police recovered three large swords allegedly used in the murder, a bicycle cogwheel and another sharp weapon believed to have been manufactured by members of an organised criminal gang. The weapons were found in a jungle area behind the suspect’s residence.
Further questioning reportedly revealed that a three-wheeler had been rented from an individual in the Koralawella area for Rs. 50,000 and was allegedly used to carry out the crime. The vehicle had allegedly been fitted with fake number plates before being used to travel to the scene of the murder, police said.
Police subsequently arrested the individual from the Thelawela area who had allegedly driven the three-wheeler.
Based on information revealed by the suspects, further investigations are underway to locate the three-wheeler allegedly used in the crime and arrest two other individuals who are believed to have accompanied the group.
The investigation is being conducted by a team led by the Chief Inspector Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Mount Lavinia Divisional Crime Investigation Bureau.
