Extradited from Dubai, Piyuma suspected in multiple murders
Police say that alleged underworld figure Piyum Hasthika, alias “Piyuma,” who was extradited from Dubai on Thursday, has an extensive criminal record and is wanted in connection with at least three murders.
The suspect is one of the main associates of Salindu Malshika Gunaratne, alias “Kudu Salindu,” who is being held and questioned by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) under detention orders. Police said Hasthika had carried out several crimes, including murders, on Salindu’s instructions.
Police say the suspect was directly involved in the killing of a youth named Lakshan Sandaruwan in Panadura North on January 25, 2021. The victim had been shot dead by two gunmen on a motorbike, and police investigations revealed that
Piyum Hasthika had acted as the motorbike rider in the incident. He had left the country for Dubai, and police had obtained a red notice against the suspect through Interpol to have him arrested and extradited.
While overseas, Hasthika allegedly also directed the shooting deaths of two people, Nilantha Kumara Silva and Mohammed Samsaad, at Katubedda Junction, Moratuwa, on June 29, 2022. He had allegedly directed the killings on the orders of “Kudu Salindu.”
The suspect has also been previously arrested for possession of heroin and cannabis.
Police said investigations into the mobile phone recovered from 'Kudu Salindu’ had revealed that the suspect had carried out transactions amounting to Rs. 83 million on 53 occasions between July 6, 2022, and
February 28, 2023, with Salindu Malshika’s Dubai-based elder brother Sadeesh Gunaratne.
The suspect had also sent a photograph of a revolver via WhatsApp to Salindu Malshika. Further investigations are ongoing to ascertain if this is the same weapon used in the shootings in Kalutara and Panadura.
CID officers brought Hasthika back to the country from Dubai on Thursday after his extradition and secured a 72-hour detention order under the Prevention of Terrorism Act to interrogate him.
Police said investigations conducted thus far into alleged underworld figures Salindu Malshika and Nadun Chinthaka, alias “Harak Kata,” have so far led to the recovery of one T-56 assault rifle, three 9mm pistols, and three revolvers.