Eden robbery unravels

On the December 12, 2007 four men boldly walked into the Eden jewellery shop situated in the heart of Wellawatte town around 10.00 a.m. Having entered the shop they tip toed up to the place where the manager was seated at his desk. They pulled out their service identity cards and showed it to him and said they wanted to search the shop for stolen jewellery.

The men were dressed in civilian clothes and the service identity cards indicated that they were Army and the Airforce servicemen. The manager believing them to be genuine service personnel allowed them to search the premises. But the men in a sudden move, brandished pistols from their pockets and then demanded gold jewellery from him.

The gang threatened to shoot the manager and its staff and barked at them and to do what they order. Thereafter the gang collected the gold jewellery worth several millions of rupees from its show cases and shoved into a sack and walked away without leaving a trace.

The robbers however did not remove cash from the safe for unknown reason, probably because they had plenty of gold and jewellery to worry about. When the robbery was reported to Wellawatte police station, Chief Inspector Dehideniya, the OIC Wellawatte Police Station visited the scene and made observation of the crime.

Thereafter the Wellawatte police launched an investigation into the robbery last year. But as months rolled by there were no trace of the suspects. They simply vanished and nobody knew who they were in the first place. The employees in the shop had not seen them before.

The Police Media Spokesman, SSP Rangith Gunesekera, said on August 17 a police informant had spilled the beans. The informant told police that an underworld gang leader involved in the Eden Jewellery shop robbery was hiding at a location at Jayawardenagama.

Following the tip off, a police team led by Sub Inspector Nalin Sriyantha from the Colombo South Special Investigation (SIU) Unit visited Jayawardenagama on the wee hours of Sunday morning and arrested the suspect, who was an army deserter.

According to police the suspect had been dismissed from the army on disciplinary grounds. Police also took charge a three wheeler taxi and a number of pawn receipts which were in his possession.

Following his arrest another underworld man involved in the Eden robbery was arrested at Badaranayake -Pura, Rajagiriya on 19th August by the Wellawatte Special Investigation Unit (SIU).

Police said he was a notorious underworld figure, wanted in connection with several murder cases in the Western Province and else where. He was a marked man and several other rival gangs had attempted to assassinate him in the past. But their efforts were not successful.

However the gang leader was seriously wounded in a shoot-out that took place a couple of years ago at the Technical Junction, Maradana. But he bounced back and carried on with his underworld activities as usual. The man had owned two Dimo lorries and several other luxury items which he purchased from robbed money.

The arrested two gang leaders are said to be linked to the Hali-Ela Bank of Ceylon robbery where they got away with Rs. 5 million in cash and jewellery worth millions of rupees. The robbery was committed on April 24th, around 3. p.m. Meanwhile police are also looking for six more suspects evading arrest. They too are believed to be involved in the robbery.

The Hali-Ela Bank of Ceylon robbery shocked the villagers in the area. Nobody would have dared to commit such a robbery without the help of a underworld gang people gossiped. It happened last year when two persons posing off as customers remained inside the bank for a long time observing customers who visited the bank.

When the security Guard on duty had noticed their suspicious behaviour, he told them to move out. But the men told the security officer that they were awaiting for a relative to call over at the bank with some cash. When the closing time approached, the men were told again to leave the premises.

At this stage they pulled out a pistol and a hand grenade and threatened to blow up the place. The robbers then ordered the security officer to drop his gun. Fearing for his safety he threw away the weapon and the cartridges on to the ground. While the drama was unfolding inside the bank another four robbers joined their colleagues. Police said the men were armed to their teeth.

Thereafter they threatened to shoot the Bank Manager and the rest of the staff and locked them up in a room. There were six of them altogether in a room. Thereafter they got the bank vaults opened and removed gold jewellery and cash which they packed into several bags before escaping.

According to OIC Crimes Badulla police, Inspector A. Jayasekara the total value of gold jewellery and cash robbed was in the range of Rs. 5 million. Police had reasons to suspect that the robbers were outsiders from their modus operandi. Months later the Badulla police were able to apprehend some suspects including a Pradeshiya Sabha member linked to the robbery. After questioning the Pradeshiya Sabba member they elicited vital information they needed.

According to Badulla police, the absence of a Close Circuit Television (CCTV) system at the Bank of Ceylon premises made easier for the robbers to escape without being identified. Police were also surprised that the combination locks of the vaults were not in operation when the robbers broke into the vaults.

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