A wanted organised crime figure arrested in Oman was flown back to Sri Lanka early on Tuesday morning, police said, the latest in a run of repatriations of suspects Sri Lankan authorities say have been directing criminal activity from overseas.
Ada Derana identified the suspect as Dimuthu Chaturanga, known as “Summitpura Chatu”, a 28-year-old resident of Mattakkuliya who was the subject of a pending Interpol Red Notice. He was arrested in Oman and subsequently deported.
A team from the Criminal Investigation Department escorted him back to the island, NewsFirst reported. Police Spokesman Assistant Superintendent of Police F.U. Wootler confirmed the suspect had been brought from Oman.
Taken to the CCD
In a later report on Tuesday morning, Ada Derana said the suspect was escorted from Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake to the Colombo Crimes Division under tight security for further interrogation.
That report gave his full name as Kankanamage Dimuthu Chathuranga Perera and said he also goes by “Modara Chathu”. It said he fled to Oman on March 22, 2025 using a forged passport, and that he was apprehended there by a team of Criminal Investigation Department officers.
Ada Derana identified him as one of the suspects in the murder of “Ganemulla Sanjeewa”, and described him as a key figure wanted in connection with several crimes committed in Sri Lanka.
Wanted in several cases
Wootler said the suspect was wanted in connection with murder, other serious crimes, drug trafficking and the possession of a bomb, according to NewsFirst.
Neither outlet gave the date of his arrest in Oman, or said whether he had been produced before a court.
Conflicting details
Ada Derana’s two filings on Tuesday differ on the suspect’s age and address. Its first report described him as a 28-year-old resident of Mattakkuliya; its second gave his age as 38 and his address as Summitpura, Modara, Colombo 15. The outlet did not reconcile the two, and LankaNewz has not independently established which is correct.
The newsrooms also render his alias differently: Ada Derana uses “Summitpura Chatu” while NewsFirst uses “Samithpura Chathu”. LankaNewz has used Ada Derana’s form, which matches its identification of him by name.
Part of a wider repatriation drive
The return follows a series of similar operations. Three organised crime suspects held in Malaysia — including an alleged close associate of Kanjipani Imran — were flown back to Colombo on August 10, an operation police later publicly defended.
Deputy Defence Minister Aruna Jayasekara said last week that 58 criminals wanted under Interpol Red Notices have been repatriated, though that figure sits above earlier police accounting of the Red Notice mechanism specifically.
