Woman-led gang of pimps and pedlars busted in Kollupitiya

An organised crime gang led by a woman that is alleged to have crushed the limbs of three people in a bloody turf war involving pimps, prostitutes and drug pedlars in the Metropolis, was busted earlier this week, police said yesterday.

They said the gang had operated for a considerable period of time in several parts of the city that housed casinos, night clubs and other places of entertainment.

The gang was arrested in a sting operation conducted by police at a location on the Marine Drive in Kolluptiya, they said.

The gang reportedly operated a mafia style syndicate supplying women to punters and customers patronising casinos and night clubs, and prevented competitors from moving into the area.

According to investigations, the gang is alleged to have broken the limbs of three people who dared to move into their turf.

The victims are from Kotte, Kollupitiya, and Wellawatte, Inspector (IP) Y.J.K. Kularatne of the Crime Branch Kollupitiya Police Station, told the Sunday Times.

It is alleged that the victims were at first assaulted with poles, and later ordered to lie flat on the road at isolated locations along the Marine Drive.

Thereafter, the woman is alleged to have driven a jeep over a selected limb of each victim, IP Kularatne said.

He added that two victims had suffered broken hands while the third had his leg crushed under the wheels of the jeep.

Meanwhile, police are also investigating a possible connections between the gang and employees at night clubs and casinos, because the gang, apparently, had a free run with zero interference from any quarter.

According to investigators the gang had charged a fee ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000 for each female sex worker depending on demand and requirement, while also providing male sex workers.

The gang was subsequently produced before a local magistrate and remanded.

Kollupitiya Police are conducting further investigations.

The gang reportedly operated a mafia style syndicate supplying women to punters and customers patronising casinos and night clubs, and prevented competitors from moving into the area