The Gampola Divisional Crime Bureau officials yesterday arrested an interdicted Police Constable and his friend in Matale for stealing three heroin parcels weighing more than 3 kgs after breaking into the Panadura Court’s storeroom in which Court productions are stored.
Investigations have revealed that this PC in question had removed the asbestos roofing sheets and entered the production store room last Saturday (19).
Part of the ceiling had collapsed when they had descended from the roof to the store room. However it has been revealed during investigations that the constable had fled with the three parcels of drugs after fixing the asbestos roofing sheet as it was.
When Court staff arrived for work last Monday (21), they had seen that that the ceiling had collapsed and the officer in charge of the room had informed the authorities about it, but no one believed that there had been a theft.
The court staff had not been aware that the thieves had broken into the warehouse and stolen three parcels of narcotics until the suspects were arrested and finding the narcotic stock yesterday. Based on an information received to the Cenral Province SDIG Lalith Pathinayake that a person posing residing in Ovilkanda area of Matale as a sales representative is looking for a buyer to sell a lot of drugs., officers of the Gampola Division Criminal Investigation Bureau conducted this raid. The first person arrested by the investigators was a 30-year-old man named Lakmal Bulathwatta, a resident of Owilkanda area in Matale. He has behaved as a sales representative. The suspect was arrested with 20 grams of heroin near the children’s stadium of the Matale Municipal Council.Information about the interdicted constable was revealed when he was questioned.
Accordingly, the police arrested him with 3.75 kilograms of heroin at his residence at Ovilkanda in Matale. It has been revealed that this drug stock was stolen from the warehouse of the Panadura Court where court productions are stored by the duo.
Investigations revealed that this constable and his friend had gone to Panadura in a car, and jumped from the wall behind the Court and entered the court complex and committed this theft.
This constable has been attached to the Moranthuduwa Police station since the beginning of his apprenticeship. This PC has gone to the Panadura court with the Court Sergeant. It has also been revealed that he has always shown interest in sneaking into the case production room on those occasions. It is also stated that the higher police officers later transferred him from Moranthuduwa station to the Mirigama Police Station on suspicion that he was using drugs.He was later interdicted while serving at the Mirigama police station over theft of money from the wallets of officers at the Mirigama Police Barracks on July 16.
He was caught while stealing goods from an officer’s locker and at that time opium and various types of ammunition were found in his possession. Investigations have revealed that the officer, who was remanded after being produced in court, went to Matale after being released on bail and planned this theft.