The wife of Abeysinghe Arachchige Wasantha Kumara Perera alias ‘Habarakada Wasantha’, a suspect evading arrest following the recent jewellery shop robbery in Matara, was arrested yesterday.
A revolver and live ammunition was found during a search operation carried out by the STF on Thursday night, Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara said.
Addressing a media briefing at the Organised Crimes Division yesterday, he said the firearm and bullets were found after Police Special Task Force (STF) personnel searched the house of the wanted suspect.
The STF also arrested three occupants of the house for questioning and handed them over to the Organised Crimes Division. One of them is the wife of Habarakada Wasantha Athukoralage Ranjani Hemamala (42), the other his mother Dayawathie Perera and his father Victor Perera.
“A few days ago during the robbery at a jewellery shop in Matara, one policeman was killed while two others were injured. A civilian woman and man were also injured in this incident.
A suspect was arrested at the scene and these suspects had come prepared to change their clothes after the robbery and flee. However, suspect Chamara Indrajith Jayasundara had pulled out a grenade targeting the police, when they had escorted him to the spot where they had hidden the clothing in the Kiralakelle forest area and he was shot by a policeman,” SP Gunasekara added.
Three other suspects who had sustained injuries had been admitted to the Karapitiya hospital and is in remand custody.
Investigations revealed that seven suspects had come for the robbery. Six of them had arrived on three motorcycles and one had come in a car. The Police Spokesman said three others are still at large, while, four suspects have so far been arrested by the police. All three of the suspects have been identified while one of them is Habarakada Wasantha, a resident of Habarakada, Homagama.
“The STF officers had received a tip-off that he had come to his home at 275/2, Habarakada, Homagama and they had gone to search his home on Thursday night.
At the time the suspect was not in his home but three others were in the house. Upon searching the house, the STF had found concealed in the house a .38 revolver and four live ammunitions and two empty bullet casings. We suspect that Habarakada Wasantha had come specifically for the Matara robbery and we suspect that this weapon that was recovered is one of the weapons brought by the suspects to commit this robbery. We will subject it to the Government Analyst’s examination,” the Police Spokesman said.
Habarakada Wasantha is wanted for a number of crimes and has several warrants pending against him.