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Retired Major & agent arrested for recruiting SL mercenaries for Russian Army

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The Human Trafficking, Human Smuggling and Maritime Crime Investigation Division (CID) arrested a retired major and an employment agent, identified as leaders of an organized scheme that recruited retired military personnel as mercenaries for the Russian army.

These two suspects were remanded till May 2 upon being produced before Negombo Magistate’s Court yesterday evening.

Investigations have revealed that the agency was promoted by young women, including popular actresses currently featured in well-known television dramas.

It is alleged that they deceived these individuals, promising them employment in Europe with work visas, ultimately defrauding them of significant sums of money.

The arrests occurred at the residences of the suspects in Wariyapola and Digana, respectively.

The arrested Major, previously a member of the Army Special Forces, is identified as Wijebandara and the agent is named Bandula.

According to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), these arrests are part of a broader operation, with additional suspects expected to be detained.

The CID has also uncovered that Chathuranga, who operated a large-scale agency on Katugastota Road in Kandy, is a key figure in this racket. He has reportedly fled to Russia and is currently in hiding.

Further revelations indicate that the recruited ex-military personnel were sent to Russia under the guise of performing maintenance work at military camps, but were instead employed as frontline mercenaries. A retired corporal, who managed to escape from the Russian mercenary force, disclosed that around 500 Sri Lankans are engaged in military activities within the Russian forces. This information led to the arrests of Wijebandara and Bandula.

The investigation has also highlighted that many of those recruited into the Russian mercenary forces from Sri Lanka, particularly from commando and special forces backgrounds, were ostensibly hired for non-combatant roles but were ultimately used in active military operations. According to the escaped corporal, those attempting to flee were either shot or captured and imprisoned.

This same corporal disclosed that his deployment was orchestrated by the retired Major from Wariyapola and that the logistics for his travel to Russia was arranged by Bandula and Chathuranga. The group of 37, including the corporal, departed for Russia from Katunayake International Airport on February 24. They have all retired from military service. The return of the corporal to Sri Lanka on March 1 was facilitated by the Red Cross and the Russian Embassy. He also revealed that two of his companions, who fled with him, have been captured by Russian forces and are currently detained in a military facility.

It has been reported that two Sri Lankans were killed in a drone attack by the Russian army in the Donetsk region of Ukraine on March 8 of the previous year, following the deaths of two others in Russia from an attack by Ukraine.

(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by dailynews.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)

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Indian HC issues statement on ‘Operation Sindoor’

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The Indian High Commission in Colombo has issued a statement on the ‘Operation Sindoor’ launched by the Indian Armed Forces targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

According to the statement, 09 sites have been targeted.

The statement further notes :

“Our actions have been focused, measured and non- escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution.”

 “These steps come in the wake of the barbaric Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were murdered. We are living up to the commitment that those responsible for this attack will be held accountable.”

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Prasanna Ranaweera remanded (Update)

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Former State Minister Prasanna Ranaweera has been remanded until May 19 by the Mahara Magistrate’s Court.

He had surrendered to the court earlier today (May 07).


(Previous news 2025 May 07 –11.00.a.m.)

Prasanna Ranaweera surrenders to court

Former State Minister Prasanna Ranaweera has surrendered to the Mahara Magistrate’s Court today (May 07).

Previously, an open warrant was issued for Ranaweera’s arrest over allegedly selling a plot of state-owned land in Kiribathgoda to a private party by forging documents.

Several persons including former Minister Mervyn Silva are currently in remand custody over the incident.

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NPP leads at CMC but fails to secure majority

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The National People’s Power (NPP) has won the most number of seats in the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), but has not obtained enough to form a majority.
The party secured 48 seats with over 81,000 votes, which is about 36.9% of the total.

The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) came in second with 29 seats, followed by the United National Party (UNP) with 13 seats. The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) won five and four seats respectively. Meanwhile, Independent & minor parties have secured 20 seats.

The CMC is Sri Lanka’s largest and oldest local government body.

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