Police uncover a chilling trail of contract killings, fake identities and drug addiction after arresting the alleged second shooter in the Akuregoda double murder.
Significant new details have emerged following the arrest of the second shooter connected to the brutal double murder of a lawyer and his wife in Akuregoda. Monaragala Police apprehended the suspect after acting on a tip off received through the 119 emergency hotline, leading officers to a house in the Tangwatta area of Nakkala.
Authorities say the suspect is a legally discharged former Navy member believed to be a trusted and skilled gunman linked to underworld figure Karandeniya Sudda. Investigators allege he has acted as the shooter in six murders, including the killing of a prison officer. Police confirmed that it was this individual who fired the pistol used in the Akuregoda shooting. His photographs had earlier been circulated to the media in a public appeal for assistance.
The raid resulted in the arrest of three suspects. They were later identified and transferred to Colombo under tight security by the Western South Crime Division. One of the arrested individuals is 39 year old Manoj Udayanga from Kananke, who has also used the name Rubus Ramesh and reportedly possessed a foreign passport under that alias. He left the Navy around 11 years ago and is said to have been unemployed since, battling heavy drug addiction. Officers recovered heroin and Kush at the time of arrest.
Police investigations reveal that he developed ties with Karandeniya Sudda while serving time in prison for theft. The other suspects include Dinujana Sandaruwan of Ambalangoda, believed to have driven the getaway vehicle, and Kelum Sujeewa of Angoda, accused of providing safe accommodation. Sujeewa, involved in road development work, allegedly hosted the suspects at a rented house in Monaragala after instructions from criminal figure Pethiyagoda Sankha.
