Armed forces assassins killing for an underworld payday not new
Organised crime gangs are recruiting ex-military men and even triforce service personnel as hitmen, as they can handle weapons and are combat-trained.
The police said that gangs use many tactics to entice those who have a history of serving in the armed forces.
Police spokesman, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Nihal Thalduwa, who is also in charge of the Crime Range, said gangs have always used people from the armed forces as well as deserters.
While more instances have surfaced recently, the underworld has always used armed forces personnel, he said.
He said organised crime groups exploit deserters.
“First, the gangs exploit the economic hardships faced by army deserters by offering them large sums of money for carrying out the tasks given to them,” he said.
Once a person agrees to be a hitman, gangs mentally manipulate them, threatening to expose their illegal acts to the armed forces or the police. They even threaten to cause harm to their families and loved ones.
Most organised crime groups provide hitmen with weapons, he said. Ballistic investigations have revealed that the same weapon has been used in many crimes. Only in a few incidents have the suspects, who have links to the military, used armed forces-issued firearms.
Some weapons had also been smuggled into the country.
The prime suspect in the February 21 killing of a meat shop owner in Elapitiwala Junction, Mahabage, is a corporal of the 4th battalion, Gemunu Watch Regiment, at Chenkaladi,
Batticaloa. Three suspects were involved in the shooting. The second suspect, Sadees Kumara, arrested last Saturday (February 24) in Narawelpiya south, Hakmana, is reportedly an army deserter from 2009. He was later formally discharged.
He was charged with aiding and abetting the shooting.
The assailants had gunned down the shop owner with a revolver at about 7:15 a.m. He had died while being rushed to the Colombo North Teaching Hospital in Ragama.
The deceased, identified as Hettiarachchige Don Sujith, alias "Ukkuwa," was the brother-in-law of the criminal gang leader “Welle Saranga” and a resident of North Batagama in Ja-Ela.
A rival gang led by “Dubai Nipuna” is suspected to have planned the murder. Reports also revealed that Sujith had been receiving death threats from “Dubai Nipuna’s” gang.
The prime suspect, the army corporal, had left the camp when army intelligence officers were approaching but was arrested in the Ampara area after an extensive search. He had been handed over to the Police Special Task Force (STF).
The third suspect, who drove the motorcycle, was killed during a shootout with the STF personnel who raided his hideout near the Aandigma tank in Suriyawewa. He was identified as 45-year-old Gabbalage Nuwan Lakshitha, a former Lance Corporal in the Army.
A senior police officer said some shootings show a trend of contact killings and murders committed by unidentified gunmen. Most are the results of rivalries or revenge.
Just the past Friday, a threewheel driver, 45, was shot dead by an unidentified gunman at Ahungalla.
The officer in charge of the Ahungalla Police, Harith Halvita, said police are investigating.
In a separate incident, a poultry meat shop owner was shot last Friday at Jampettah Street, Kotahena, by gunmen on a bike. The pillion rider had shot the victim, identified as Mohamad Rilwaan, three times with a revolver.
According to the police, one bullet injured Rilwaan’s shoulder area, but his condition is not serious.
Meanwhile, the Colombo Crime Division has arrested a suspect involved in the shooting. The 23-year-old suspect, identified as the
motorbike rider who aided the gunman, was arrested along with six grams of drugs in his possession.
The organised crime unit of the Colombo Crime Division believes the shooting was the result of a contract by organised crime figure and drug peddler Palani Rimoshan.
The victim has been identified as the brother of another organised crime gang leader, Pukudukanna. The meat shop building also belonged to the same gang leader.
Police suspect gang rivalry and retaliation for another shooting that caused the death of a gang member of the organised crime group led by Kudu Salindu.
As for military figures involved in killings, the army media spokesman, Major General Rasika Kumara, said awareness programmes have begun for soldiers and their commanding officers regarding the repercussions of bad conduct.
The Military Police also carry out internal investigations.
“If a person attached to the military is a suspect in a criminal case, their immediate commanding officer has the power to take action according to the severity of the case. If a military person had committed a greater crime, it could lead to expulsion from his position and being stripped of his titles,’’ he said.
He said that the physical fitness of soldiers is checked every year, and the platoon's immediate commanding officer interviews and checks on the behavioural changes of individuals and directs them for counselling.
In 2022, around 7,000 soldiers from the army have been directed to undergo counselling.
“We are aware that organised crime gangs are trying to exploit the economic situation to entice military personnel. We are conducting awareness campaigns regarding the matter,” the army spokesman said.