Pawn jewellery heist - robbers meet their Waterloo

The six-member armed gang in uniforms similar to those worn by the Army and police personnel entered a jewellery pawn shop at Anguruwella, Warakapola last week on the pretext of attending to some work. The shop employees became somewhat suspicious when they were told that they wish to examine the pawned jewellery, in the safe. It soon dawned on the shop employees that they were not soldiers but a gang of robbers who were heavily armed.

The robbers thereopon threatened to shoot the shop employees if they raised alarm and emptied the gold jewellery in the safe into bags and drove off in a Dolphin van in the direction of the Koskele Forest reservation. A well planned robbery was carried out with military precision. The entire operation took barely 10 minutes. Gold jewellery valued at several million rupees were robbed and there was hardly any resistance as the employees were dumb-founded.

Following the incident the shop employees promptly got in touch with the Warakapola police. The police alerted the police radio car stationed at the Warakapola town about the daring robbery and sent messages to other police stations to apprehend the robbers. Within minutes, the three policemen in the radio patrol car drove in the direction of the Koskele reservation forest in pursuit of the robbers. When the message was conveyed to the Headquarters Inspector (HQI) Kulatunga, he too boarded a police jeep and drove off in the same direction. The policemen in the radio car soon ambushed the Dolphin van at Dewale Road, Ambepussa. The driver of the police radio car cautioned Police Sergeants Ratnayake and Bandara not to leave the vehicle as he sensed impending danger.

Gunfire

However, as Police sergeant Ratnayake alighted from the vehicle to arrest the suspects the van door was opened and a robber clad in a Khaki pair of trousers leapt from the vehicle carrying an automatic firearm. The robber aimed the weapon at police sergeant Ratanayake and fired several shots. The burst of gunfire reverberated in the air. The hail of bullets fatally injured Sergeant Ratnayake (42). The robber then continued to fire indiscriminately in the direction of the police vehicle fatally wounding sergeant Banadara (45) and injuring sergeant Chandraratne who was in the vehicle. Sergeant Bandara succumbed to his injuries after the bullets penetrated his head. Both men slumped into their seats following the gunfire.

The wounded police Sergeant Chandraratne however did not attempt to raise his head through fear. The gunman believing that all policemen were killed boarded the van and drove off in the direction of Ambepussa. This was no doubt a cold-blooded murder by a trigger-happy gunman. Following the killing the robbers drove at an excessive speed.

They probably sensed that road-blocks would be set up to ambush them at some point. But the Dolphin van, driven in a reckless speed hit a wayside lamp post and fell into a rut.

When the robbers realised that the vehicle was immobile they fled into the nearby Koskele forest reservation to take refuge. While the robbers were fleeing to the forest reserve, Inspector Kulatunga and several other policemen who spotted them fired several rounds but they escaped.

Manhunt

At this point IGP Mahinda Balasuriya who was in direct contact with HQI Kulatunga had inquired whether he needed further assistance to track down the fleeing robbers. When Inspector Kulatunga said that he needed further assistance, a contingent consisting of 400 policemen from the neighbouring police stations, Special Task Force (STF) units along with army detachment from Ambepussa and Mirigama were despatched to the Koskele reservation. The service personnel and the policemen cordoned off the Koskele forest reservation and began a gruelling man-hunt for the killers lurking about in the forest. The forest reservation was combed thoroughly for the suspects.

The combined dusk to dawn operation continued the following morning. The robbers were ambushed in the thick jungle patch and an exchange of fire ensued between the security Forces and the robbers. Later that night five bodies of the robbers that lay in the jungle were recovered by the police. The body of the sixth robber was found in a near-by river the next morning.

The ex-soldier had drowned while trying to escape. The Security Forces have identified the five robbers as ex-soldiers who had deserted the Army. The sixth man, a Police Constable had been under interdiction. The four soldiers were identified as those from the Army Commando regiment while the fifth was from the Special Forces. A soldier who was injured in the exchange of fire was admitted to the Kegalle hospital. The leader of the six-member gang has been identified as M.K Hiru Anuradha alias Kondaya from Ganemulla who shot dead the two police Sergeants at Warakapola at point blank range.

He was a soldier who had been earlier attached to the Special Forces. It was revealed that the Police Constable under interdiction was from the Badalkumbura police station in the Uva Province. He had stolen a T-56 automatic weapon with several rounds of bullets. The police constable linked to several robberies in the Moneragalla district has been enlarged on bail, police sources said.

Meanwhile, the Warakapola police has launched an investigation to ascertain the registered owner of the Dolphin van which discharged false number plates in the robbery. The two police sergeants who died in the attack have been posthumously promoted for gallantry to the rank of Sub Inspector of police by IGP Mahinda Balasuriya.