Police Special Task Force officers had arrested five suspects over a plot to kill the wife of a Welikada Prison inmate, Police Media Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara said.
Based on a tip-off received by the Organised Crimes Division that a plan was being hatched to kill the wife of a prison inmate when she returns after visiting him in prison, STF officers clad in civils had been on the alert around the Welikada prison area. Being suspicious about a person who was at the bus stand opposite the Welikada prison, STF officers had made their way towards him without raising suspicion.
They had paid attention to a phone conversation he was having at the time and it helped them confirm that he had some connection with the plot. The suspect was then arrested and a motorcycle belonging to him parked in the vicinity was taken into police custody.The arrested suspect was identified as 22-year-old Nilwala Kankanamlage Lahiru Pramodya Perera, a resident of Kaduwela.
The STF had also retrieved a live hand grenade from his possession.
Upon interrogation, another suspect who had come with the arrested suspect was also apprehended when he was coming out of the Welikada Prison. He has been identified as 23-year-old Ruwan Pathiranage Sajith Viduranga, a resident of Udawapitigama, Malwana.
Based on information gathered by the two arrested suspects, the STF had tried to search a trishaw that was parked nearby, but when they saw the police approaching them, they had sped towards Dematagoda.STF officers had given chase and arrested three more suspects including the trishaw driver near the Dematagoda flyover.
The three arrested suspects who were in the trishaw were the trishaw driver 25-year-old Johnson Amila 24-year-old Sam Abeysooriyage Kelum Kumara and 27-year-old Velupani Ravi.All of them are residents of Mattakkuliya. The STF had recovered 2 grams and 610 milligrams of heroin from their possession. The STF had also taken into custody a sharp manna knife, the trishaw, the motorcycle fitted with a fake number plate, several mobile phones and a live hand grenade, from the suspects.
The STF determined that this was a premeditated plan to commit the murder. Investigations had also revealed that this murder plot had been planned by several prison inmates currently being held at the Welikada prison.The suspects had been handed over to the Organised Crime Division for further interrogation.