A special police team is scheduled to leave for Indonesia today (30) to escort back to Sri Lanka six organised crime figures, including underworld leader Kehelbaddara Padme, who were arrested in Jakarta earlier this week.
Police said the team will work jointly with Sri Lankan CID officers currently stationed in Indonesia, along with Indonesian security agencies, to ensure the suspects are brought back under tight security. The group is expected to arrive in Sri Lanka tomorrow (31) evening.
Meanwhile, the wife and child of Backhoe Saman, one of the arrested underworld leaders, arrived in Colombo on 29 September and were handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
Investigations have also been launched into the illegally acquired assets of Kehelbaddara Padme and his associates. Police said evidence has already surfaced of numerous movable and immovable properties in Sri Lanka purchased with illicit funds. Several assets linked to another underworld figure, Commando Salintha, are also under scrutiny.
On 28 September, Indonesian police, working in collaboration with Sri Lanka Police and INTERPOL, arrested six key organised crime leaders. Among them were Kehelbaddara Padme, Commando Salintha, Bako Saman, and Panadura Nilanga.
Authorities confirmed that the suspects, leaders of three notorious underworld gangs, were apprehended during a high-level international joint operation described as one of the most significant crackdowns on Sri Lankan organised crime in recent years.
