‘Tinker’ deported from Dubai, taken into custody in Sri Lanka

Sri Dharan Neranjan, also known as ‘Tinker,’ who was deported from Dubai, was taken into custody by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) this morning (October 1).

A joint operation by the Sri Lanka Police, the State Intelligence Service, and the Dubai Police led to the deportation and arrest of the suspect, who has been linked to organized crime.

The suspect, a 36-year-old resident of Colombo 15 was handed over to Peliyagoda Police officers at Bandaranaike International Airport in the early hours of October 1, 2025, by CID officials.

“Tinker” has been identified as an associate of notorious criminal and drug trafficker Palani Shiran Glorian, alias “Kochchikade Shiran.”

Investigations have connected him to two major shootings:

• October 16, 2024: Served as the driver of the getaway vehicle used in the killing of a man inside a three-wheeler near Mahawatta Public Cemetery in Grandpass.
• August 19, 2025: Transported firearms used in a shooting at Sri Gnanarathana Mawatha, Peliyagoda, which left one person dead and another seriously injured.

Police further revealed that the suspect had fled the country on August 19, 2025, shortly after the Peliyagoda shooting. A foreign travel ban has since been imposed against him.

He is scheduled to be produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court, while further investigations are being carried out under the supervision of the Peliyagoda Police.