Hunt on for ex-President’s missing vehicles

Criminal Investigations Department (CID) detectives are probing as to how a large number of the 700 vehicles allocated to the Presidential Secretariat have gone missing, a se- nior police officer said.

The probe has been launched on the directive of Inspector General N.K. Illangakoon following a complaint by an officer in charge of the transport section of the Presidential Secretariat.

The CID has collected details of the vehicles, including luxury cars

and jeeps, and the persons to whom the vehicles had been officially assigned, the officer said.

In addition, the probe will also cover ministry and state institution vehicles that had gone missing.

Since the probe got underway, five Defender vehicles and one Prado jeep have been recovered, the police officer said.

Four of the Defender jeeps were found in a garage in Kirulapone, while in Poddala an Intercooler jeep with altered chassis number was found without a number plate.

Another Land Cruiser jeep of the Economic Development Ministry was found in an estate of a former provincial council member at Madurankuliya in Puttalam. The vehicle had been used by a secretary of the former Minister Basil Rajapaksa, according to the police.

“We have information that attempts are being made to illegally transfer some of these vehicles by adjusting the vehicle registration numbers. Also some of the vehicles are being dismantled and parts removed,” the officer said.

The CID has called on the people to provide information on the missing vehicles.