If two days had passed, we wouldn't have been able to catch even a single one

Everything was ready to escape to Turkey...
If two days had passed,
we wouldn't have been able to catch even a single one

"We had everything ready to escape to Turkey. If we had been two more days late, sir, we wouldn't have been able to catch even a single one of our tails," underworld leader Kehelbaddara Padme had told Assistant Superintendent of Police Rohan Oligala when he was arrested in Indonesia.

“I never thought that Sir would come to Jakarta and catch us. But I felt that something was going to happen to us. We were ready to go to Turkey in two days. We had prepared everything we needed to stay there.

I have been to about 20 countries in the world. Among those countries, Indonesia is considered the safest country for us to stay.

This country is 29 times bigger than Sri Lanka. It has a large population. We saw this country as a safe country to hide in.

Even if we were caught in Sri Lanka, we did not think that we would be caught in this country. On the day we were caught, information came that Olugala Sir had arrived. That is why we changed our place and fled to another place. But in the end, we were trapped.” Kehelbaddara Padme Rohan further told Mr. Olugala.

Underworld leaders Kehelbaddara Padme, Commando Salintha, Panadura Kudu Nilanga, Backo Saman and Tambari Lahiru, who were arrested and rounded up in Jakarta, Indonesia, were brought to Sri Lanka on the night of the 30th in a Sri Lankan Airlines flight.

The underworld criminals were brought to Sri Lanka under the protection of twelve Indonesian police officers and nine officers from the Criminal Investigation Department who had traveled from Sri Lanka.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Rohan Oligala, who was in charge of this operation, and Assistant Superintendent of Police Mahinda Jayasundara of the Criminal Investigation Department also arrived in the island on the same flight.

Minister of Public Security and Law and Order Ananda Wijepala and Inspector General of Police Attorney Priyantha Weerasuriya, along with several high-ranking officials, were present at the Katunayake Airport to inspect the security arrangements made for the underworld criminals brought to Sri Lanka.

The officers including Rohan Olugala, who led the operation to bring the underworld criminals, were warmly welcomed at the airport with garlands.

The Minister and the Inspector General of Police presented gifts and mementos to the Indonesian police officers who provided security to bring these underworld criminals.

Several special teams from the Police Special Task Force and the Criminal Investigation Department had arrived at the Katunayake Airport to safely bring the underworld criminals to Colombo.

There, these underworld criminals were taken to Colombo under tight security.

Underworld leader Kehelbaddara Padme, Commando Salintha and Panadura Nilanga who were in custody have been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department.

Underworld criminals Tambari Lahiru and Backo Saman have been handed over to the Peliyagoda Crime Division and are being held at the Port Police.

The police say that these five criminals are being questioned on detention orders under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Kehelbaddara Padme and Commando Salintha were charged with the shooting death of underworld leader Ganemulla Sanjeewa in the Aluthkade court.

Kudu Nilanga has been charged with several murders including large-scale drug trafficking in the Panadura area in the past.

Middeniye Kaja and his two young children were recently shot dead on the orders of criminals Backo Saman and Tambari Lahiru.

The Criminal Investigation Department and the Peliyagoda Crime Division are conducting further investigations.

Quote: Divaina Newspaper 2025-09-01