Nadun Chinthaka alias ‘Harak Kata’ and Salindu Lakshitha alias ‘Kudu Salindu,’ two main drug traffickers and organized criminals, who were recently arrested in Madagascar, were brought to Sri Lanka early today (14), airport sources said.

A team including an Assistant Superintendent of Police of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and an Assistant Superintendent of Police of the Special Task Force had gone to Madagascar on the 11th to bring these two to Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, the authorities have decided to detain the two criminals in the custody of the CID under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

It was reported that the IGP held a special discussion with Prasad Ranasinghe, Deputy Inspector General of Police, CID and Kavinda Piyasekera, Director of the CID yesterday evening (13) in this regard.

Sources revealed that special attention has been paid to ensure that these two underworld criminals are not handed over to any investigative team other than the CID.  

However, any investigative team will have the opportunity to interrogate these two criminals with prior permission from the CID in relation to their investigations.

Police information revealed that the opportunity to question these criminals will be carried out under the supervision of the officers of the CID.

Special security..

The police have also paid special attention to the security of Harak Kata and Kudu Salindu due to information received from the intelligence division that Harak Kata and Kudu Salindu have had very close relations with several corrupt officers of the police.

Based on information revealed through investigations into the two suspects, the police authorities will investigate these officers as well.

Six underworld criminals, including Harak Kata and Kudu Salindu, who went to Madagascar in a private jet on February 12, posing as wealthy men, were arrested by the Madagascar Security Forces on March 1. 

Apart from these underworld criminals, there had been a foreign woman who posed as Harak Kata’s wife and a man who claimed to be her father.

This group was taken into custody by that country’s Security Forces and Sri Lanka was notified later. Madagascar’s Security Forces had expressed their agreement to hand over Harak Kata and Kudu Salindu against whom Red Notices had been issued by Interpol, to Sri Lanka according to international law.

Four officers of the CID and the STF left for Madagascar on Saturday, March 11 and had taken Harak Kata and Kudu Salindu into their custody yesterday (13).

Two Madagascar police officers also join..

According to police sources, two police officers from Madagascar were also involved in the operation to bring the suspects back to Sri Lanka.

The suspects had been brought from Madagascar to an airport in the Middle Eastern region in a plane belonging to an airline company of an African region.

The group had to stay at an airport in the Middle East region for several hours.

Sources revealed that during that time, Harak Kata and Kudu Salindu had been kept in a security cell at the airport.

The same sources also mentioned that during the arrival, Harak Kata and Kudu Salindu were afraid as they had not thought that they would be taken back to Sri Lanka.

The information further stated that they had even appealed to the officials not to endanger their lives. It is also said that the mobile phones which were found in the possession of the criminals by the Madagascar security forces have also been handed over to the special police team who left the country with the two of them.

Commenting on these mobile phones, a high-ranking Police officer said that it will be possible to discover information not only about Harak Kata and Kudu Salindu’s drug network, but also information regarding police officers and many others who were in contact with them in this country, with evidence.

Source – Daily News