Nepal Police, with Interpol’s backing, captured and deported Sri Lanka’s most wanted woman assassin, Ishara Sewwandi, and five gang members tied to the Kehelbaddara Padme crime network, marking a rare cross-border crackdown on Colombo’s underworld fugitives.
Nepal Police declared a major success after arresting and deporting Ishara Sewwandi, the prime suspect in the sensational courtroom assassination of Sri Lankan underworld leader Ganemulla Sanjeewa. Working alongside Interpol, Nepal Police tracked down Sewwandi and five other Sri Lankan nationals hiding in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur, before deporting them to Colombo on Wednesday.
Sewwandi, formally identified as Ishara Sewwandi Weerashingha Pinpura Dewage, 26, had been on Interpol’s red notice list following the killing of Sanjeewa Kumara Samararathne, widely known as Ganemulla Sanjeewa, inside the Hulftsdorp Magistrate’s Court on February 19, 2024. Her capture was a top priority for both Sri Lankan and international authorities.
Also deported were five men alleged to be key members of the Kehelbaddara Padme gang: Jeevathasan Kanakarasa, 33; Takshi Nanthakumar, 23; Dinesh Shyamantha De Silva Kaludara, 49; Kenedy Bastiampillai, 35; and Dinesh Nisantha Kumara Wikkrama Arachchige, 43. This gang has been tied to drug trafficking and organized crime operations stretching from Sri Lanka to Malaysia and Dubai. Interpol previously confirmed that the gang’s leader, Kehelbaddara Padme, arrested in Indonesia on August 25, was the mastermind behind Sanjeewa’s assassination.
Investigations revealed that the six suspects had been living discreetly under false identities, even claiming to be Indian nationals. Two reportedly flew into Nepal, while the others slipped across land borders from India. Alerts from Interpol and the Sri Lankan Embassy in Kathmandu led to heightened surveillance, culminating in their dramatic arrest.
Because none of the suspects had committed crimes on Nepalese soil, the Department of Immigration coordinated with police to fine them under local law before deporting them under tight security. Sri Lankan officials formally took custody upon their arrival.
SOURCE :- KATMANDU POST
