The dramatic arrest of underworld suspect Ishara Sewwandi in Nepal was the result of a three-day international operation led by Sri Lankan police, working with Nepalese law enforcement and Interpol support, officials said.
Sewwandi — who was linked to the killing of underworld figure Ganemulla Sanjeewa at the Hulftsdorp Magistrate’s Court in February — was found hiding in a luxury house in the Bhaktapur district near Kathmandu.
According to investigators, a special team from the Peliyagoda Crimes Division, headed by Assistant Superintendent of Police Rohan Olugala and Inspector Gihan de Silva, travelled to Nepal on the directions of IGP Priyantha Weerasuriya and CID Senior DIG Asanka Karawita. The officers had been working with Nepalese police to trace Sewwandi’s whereabouts after intelligence suggested she had fled Sri Lanka months earlier.
Police said Sewwandi was smuggled out of Sri Lanka by boat to India with the assistance of an accomplice known as “JK Bhai.” From India, she travelled by train to Nepal, where she had been living under a false identity in a high-end rented residence.
The breakthrough came after the questioning of an associate of the Kehelbaddara Padme underworld gang, who revealed Sewwandi’s location. Acting on the tip-off, ASP Olugala’s team coordinated with Nepalese officers to raid the residence on Monday night.
When confronted, Sewwandi reportedly surrendered without resistance, telling officers she had expected to be arrested “one day”. Four others, including JK Bhai, were also taken into custody during the raid.
Investigations further revealed that Sewwandi had been planning to flee to Europe using a forged passport prepared under the name of a Jaffna woman resembling her. During the operation, one of the gang members — identified as “Gampaha Baba” — allegedly offered a Rs. 5 million bribe to the Sri Lankan officers, which was rejected.
The suspects remain in the custody of Nepalese authorities, pending arrangements for their transfer to Sri Lanka. (Newswire)