Police follow leads in Rs 70 million heist

Police have thrown a dragnet for the arrest of a service deserter linked to the second biggest heist in the country where a five-member gang armed with a T-56 weapon robbed Rs 70 million from a lorry transporting cash to be deposited in Automated Teller Machines in the Kelaniya area.

“We have identified one robber, a service deserter who is wanted in connection with several armed robberies in the past.

Following the robbery he fled the Western province along with the loot and is believed to be in hiding in a provincial town in disguise. Following a tip off we looked for him in several places, but he slipped away before we could get hold of him. He is on the run but we hope to round-up the five-member gang before long”, police sources told the Sunday Observer.

According to police the cash amounting to Rs 70 million had been taken to a secret location where the money is believed to be buried or hidden in a safe house. “We believe that the gang has not yet divided the spoils. This may be a move to prevent anyone seeing them spending money on a lavish scale. We believe the cash is hidden in a safe house or buried in its compound”, police sources said.

Meanwhile, police fingerprint experts who visited the scene at Thelangapatha where the lorry transporting cash was robbed have found a palm print of a robber. The fingerprint experts are now examining the print to identify the robber linked to the heist.

Around 200 quizzed

“However, due to the rain that night finger or palm prints on the vehicle may have been erased or smudged. The robbers would have even worn gloves during the heist,” police said.

Sleuths inspecting the hijacked lorry near a lonely spot.

Around 200 persons including service deserters, suspicious characters and people in the neighbourhood have been questioned in connection with the robbery. “We have instructed banks and other financial institutions to look out for suspicious persons who attempt to deposit large sums of money.

We have also explained to people in Casinos and Gambling Clubs throughout the country to keep a close eye on suspicious characters who spend big sums of money on gambling,” police sources said.

The investigation on the Rs 70 million heist is being led by DIG Crimes of the Western Province, Anura Senanayake. The Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) Director, Superintendent of Police D.R.L. Ranaweera has been assigned the task of apprehending the five member gang. He is assisted by Inspector U.P.S. Priyantha of the Peliyagoda Crime Branch.

Four police teams from the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) and a team from the Peliyagoda police have been detailed to round up the robbers. The police teams have visited provincial towns in the South and the North Western Province (NWP) during the past two weeks to track down the robbers.

This was the second biggest robbery in recent years where the robbers got away with Rs 70 million. Police also learnt that the lorry driver as a matter of routine had his dinner at his Wanawasala home while the cash was being transported to Kelaniya via Wattala.

The driver had done this on a number of occasions earlier despite instructions from the company not to drive the lorry on by-roads. “We are investigating as to why the driver had not complied with those instructions and whether he had a hand in the robbery, police said.

Security lapses probed

The robbed cash was from a well-known private bank in Colombo. The bank concerned had entrusted the task of replenishing cash to Automated Teller Machines (ATM) in the Western province to a private company. The private company had hired a security company for the job. Numerous security lapses committed by them are being probed to ascertain whether they had had a hand in the robbery.

On the day of the incident, the lorry transporting cash to Kelaniya had travelled along the Hunupitiya-Wanawasala road and arrived at Thelangapatha. “We are probing as to why they travelled on such a lonely stretch of road carrying Rs 70 million at the dead of night”, police said.

The lorry was escorted by two security officers, a cashier, a machine operator and the driver. The two security officers were armed with two shotguns. They were issued with three cartridges each. The lorry left Borella around 10 pm and arrived in Negombo late in the night. After replenishing the ATM machines with cash they travelled to Wattala and were on their way to Kelaniya. The route via Wanawasala and Thelangapatha was a short cut to the Thorana junction, Kelaniya.

The lorry driver preferred this route because he could drop in at his home at Wanawasala for dinner. The robbery took place on September 23, around 1.am. when the lorry was intercepted by two robbers disguised in police and Civil Defence Force uniforms.

It took place near the culvert at Aluwakella in the Thelangapatha area. When the driver alighted from the vehicle three men clad in civvies also arrived. One man had a T 56 weapon in his possession.

Robbers in charge

The five robbers surrounded the lorry and demanded that the security officers and others disembark. The robbers thereafter took charge of the two shot-guns and cartridges which were in the trouser pockets of the security officers. They tied them and instructed that they get inside the lorry. A robber then drove the lorry to a lonely spot where they emptied the cash boxes into a bag and rode off on two motorcycles.

“The robbed currency notes are in the denominations of Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000. However, we are unable to caution the public on the serial numbers of the notes as they were not issued by the Central Bank. The notes are old notes which were in circulation.” police said.

Meanwhile, the public have been told to keep a vigilant eye on those who attempt to encash large sums of money.

IGP Mahinda Balasooriya has offered Rs 2.5 million as a reward to anyone giving information regarding the robbery.