Police have arrested the alleged mastermind and driver behind the Rs. 80 million robbery at a tourism and foreign employment agency in Thalawathugoda, where masked men stormed the premises, forced employees to kneel, and escaped with cash and gold jewellery.
It is reported that the suspect was apprehended in Mulleriyawa during a raid by the Western Province Southern Crime Division. Officers recovered Rs. 18.5 million from the stolen money, the vehicle used in the crime, and a stolen motorcycle.
The robbery took place on September 1, when three armed men broke into the agency, threatened staff with death, assaulted them, and fled with about Rs. 65 million in cash and 30 pounds of gold jewellery worth Rs. 15 million.
Police investigations have revealed that the arrested suspect had previously worked as a deputy representative at the same agency. He was heavily indebted, having failed to repay Rs. 15 million borrowed from the agency’s owner.
Police said the suspect admitted that public humiliation at a recent wedding in Mulleriyawa, combined with his debt burden, motivated him to plan the robbery.
Unable to carry out the crime alone, he enlisted the help of a former civilian employee of the Nawagamuwa Police, who then connected him with two others from Bomiriya.
About a month before the robbery, the group met at a house in Siddamulla, Piliyandala, to plan the operation. They used a rented vehicle from a Hanwella financial institution, fitted with fake number plates, to execute the crime.
After the robbery, the gang regrouped at the Siddamulla house and divided the loot. The mastermind received Rs. 20 million, the former Police employee took Rs. 15 million and the gold jewellery, while the other two received Rs. 8 million each.
The Police said from his share, the mastermind gave Rs. 5 million to a friend in Bomiriya for safekeeping, used Rs. 1.3 million to reclaim a mortgaged plot of land, and repaid loans taken from several women in Mulleriyawa. Police have since recovered all but Rs. 300,000 of the stolen money.
Authorities confirmed that information about the other suspects has been uncovered, and arrests are expected soon.
The arrested chief suspect is to be produced before the Kaduwela Magistrate’s Court for an identification parade, while investigations continue. (Newswire)