A team of officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) left for India yesterday (25) to bring back alleged organised crime figure and large-scale narcotics trafficker Arumahandi Janith Madhusankha de Silva, also known as ‘Podi Lasi’, who was arrested and detained in Mumbai.
Sources said that, following diplomatic-level engagement and coordination through international policing channels, the suspect is scheduled to be handed over to Sri Lankan authorities today (26) after the completion of legal formalities in India.
Despite facing multiple charges including murder and drug trafficking, Podi Lasi was granted bail on 9 December 2024 due to delays in court proceedings.
After being released from prison, he reportedly fled to India by sea, claiming that his life was under threat. He was subsequently arrested in Mumbai in January 2025 while allegedly attempting to leave India using a forged passport.
Considered one of the most notorious underworld figures to emerge from the Southern Province in recent history, he is alleged to have entered the criminal underworld following the killing of his father, Thelwatte Wasantha, by a rival gang and the shooting injury of his mother.
Police records indicate that the killing of an individual who had prepared kiribath following his father’s funeral was regarded as his first alleged crime.
In 2015, he was accused of the murder of Rathgama Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Manoj Mendis, after which he reportedly rose to prominence in organised crime circles. He is further alleged to have been involved in the killing of three members of a family and a prison jailer, among other offences.
Investigations have also identified him as a key buyer in a large-scale heroin distribution network operating islandwide, allegedly in collaboration with corrupt officers attached to the Police Narcotics Bureau.
While being held at the Boossa Prison, he drew controversy after publicly issuing death threats against the then President and several senior officials.
Sources added that once Indian authorities formally hand over the suspect to the CID, he will be brought back to Sri Lanka and produced before court in connection with multiple murder and drug trafficking cases pending against him.
