Eight arrested over staged robbery involving over Rs. 20 Million in Pettah

Eight suspects, including a woman, have been arrested by the police over a robbery that was allegedly staged to look like the theft of more than 20 million rupees belonging to a private institution in Pettah.

According to police, the incident was planned to appear as if the money had been stolen while an employee of the same institution was taking it to the bank.

The arrests were made during a raid conducted by the Kelaniya Divisional Crime Investigations Unit. Officers had stopped a suspicious three-wheeler in the Naranminiya area, within the Peliyagoda Police Division, and found a bag containing 3 million rupees in cash with a passenger seated in the back.

Due to suspicions about the money, both the passenger and the driver were taken into custody for questioning. Police investigations later revealed that the money was part of a fake robbery planned by several individuals.

Further inquiries led to the arrest of five more suspects and a woman, along with the recovery of 1.5 million rupees and another 22,245,000 rupees in cash, as well as a motorcycle used in the crime.

The suspects are aged between 25 and 45, while the woman is 60 years old. They are residents of Kelaniya, Peliyagoda, Wellampitiya, Mawanella, and Kadawatha.

The Kelaniya Divisional Crime Investigations Unit is conducting further investigations.