Eight people including two of the top underworld criminals in the country’s drug trafficking trade Nadun Chinthaka Wickratamaratne alias Harak Kata and Salindu Malshitha Gunaratne alias Kudu Salindu have been arrested by security authorities in Madagascar on March 1.
According to a report published on Madagascar’s L’EXPRESS website on March 6, the suspects were arrested at Ivato International Airport in Madagascar.
Among them is a woman who claims to be Harak Kata’s wife, a Malagasy national.
According to the website, it is said that Harak Kata and others were arrested on March 1. Five others arrived at the country’s Nosy Be International Airport on February 12 in a private jet.
According to local media reports, they were arrested on March 1 when they were leaving Madagascar.
At the time of arrest, Harak Kata had posed as a rich businessman on a business trip. The rest of the group including Kudu Salindu had appeared as bodyguards of Harak Kata.
According to the orders and police reports obtained by the courts of Sri Lanka, the Interpol have issued red notices against the underworld criminals including Harak Kata over murders, drug trafficking and weapon smuggling.
According to the red notice of the International Police, only Hark Kata has been clearly identified by the Madagascar security forces. Kudu Salindu has been identified through investigations.
According to local media reports, Harak Kata and others arrived at Ivato Airport in two luxury cars from the hotel they were staying in. Authorities had found more than 38 million in that country’s local currency in the possession of the woman who pretended to be Harak Kata’s wife. The amount has been confiscated.
Harak Kata distributes drugs in Dubai, Malaysia, Singapore, Seychelles, Maldives and Madagascar. It is stated in the media reports that Harak Kata and others will be deported to Sri Lanka.
It has been learned through unofficial sources in Sri Lanka that there are other people involved in the drug network among the rest of the suspects.
However, the International Police Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department has not officially received information about this arrest.
Even the Police Narcotics Bureau, which had arranged to obtain red notices from the International Police against the suspects, had not received information about this.
A senior police officer stated that they would check information from Madagascar about this arrest through the International Police and confirm the facts about this arrest. The officer said that after confirming the facts, official discussions will be held with the country and necessary steps will be taken to bring the suspects to Sri Lanka.
The official added that a team from the CID may be sent to Madagascar to interrogate them and bring them back.
Earlier, Harak Kata was arrested by the Dubai Police according to an International Police Red Notice on August 11, 2022.
At that time too, Kudu Salindu was with him and they had fake passports.
They was released by the Dubai Police on October 3 since the legal documents required to deport him to Sri Lanka could not be properly completed on time.
03 young Sri Lankans have been featured in the Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Asia list for 2025.
They are : Nikin Matharaarachchi, in 2021, founded Sri Lanka-based Synapse AI Labs is the company behind Kommon Poll, an AI-powered social listening tool. Kommon Poll provides businesses marketing insights by analyzing keyword performance across multiple online platforms, including news sites, blogs and social media.
Charith N Silva, known for videos showing him preparing dishes in outdoor settings, launched the YouTube channel ‘Wild Cookbook’ in 2020 during the pandemic. With over 600 videos, ‘Wild Cookbook’ is now Sri Lanka’s largest YouTube channel with over 10 million subscribers, and Silva has over 2.3 million Instagram followers. In November 2024, he opened a restaurant in Colombo called Wildish.
Yanika Amarasekera-Siyaguna, a UC Berkeley and Imperial College London alumna, founded Silver Aisle, Sri Lanka’s first online wedding registry, in 2019. The e-commerce platform has since expanded beyond wedding gifts to include presents for all occasions as well as dining ,vacation packages and lessons in horse riding, golf and pottery, among others. In 2023, Amarasekera-Siyaguna was appointed an independent director of LB Finance, one of Sri Lanka’s largest finance firms.
Sri Lanka and India have signed a USD 930.8 million debt restructuring deal recently on Sri Lanka’s present External Debt Restructuring Process.
The signing of Bilateral Amendatory Agreements between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Export-Import Bank (EXIM) of India took place on March 25, 2025 and April 03, 2025, respectively.
The deal concerns 07 Line of Credit and 04 Buyer’s Credit Facility agreements with the Government of India.
Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development, Mr. K.M. Mahinda Siriwardana, signed the agreements on behalf of the Sri Lankan Government.
General Manager of the EXIM Bank of India, Mr.Nirmit Ved, signed the Line of Credits, and Deputy General Manager of the EXIM Bank of India, Mr. Amith Kumar, signed the Buyer’s Credit Agreements.
Issuing a statement, the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development stated that the signing of these bilateral amendatory agreements marks a significant milestone in Sri Lanka’s ongoing External Debt Restructuring Process.
A total of 965 people have died between January 01 – May 13 due to various road accidents across Sri Lanka.
During this period,1,842 accidents including 902 fatal accidents were recorded, according to police reports.
The main causes cited for these accidents include negligence, reckless driving and improper vehicle maintenance.
To address the rising number of accidents, police have planned a special island-wide program focused on reducing traffic incidents, including driver awareness initiatives.