Opposition hand in white van incidents probed

COLOMBO: Police have arrested four suspects, including two Ministerial Security Division (MSD) personnel, suspected to have been involved in controversial ‘white van’ incidents.

Police said the four suspects have extorted money from a restaurant in Dehiwela claiming to be from the security detail of Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, whereas they were actually attached to the security contingent of two Opposition politicians.

Police sources said this could be an attempt to defame the Defence Secretary.

According to the Colombo Crime Division, the owner of a restaurant had lodged a complaint at the police station Dehiwala that an armed gang calling themselves to be from the security detail of Defence Secretary Rajapaksa had attacked his restaurant on July 29. The complainant further said that the gang had arrived in a white coloured van.

The white van used by the two Ministerial Security Division officers to extort money from a restaurant in Dehiwela, had been rented from a private cab service.

Police arrested four suspects including two police officers for not paying bills totalling to Rs.19,600 and extorting Rs.11,000 from a restaurant in Dehiwela last week.

“The suspects who had stormed a restaurant at Wasala Road, Dehiwela refused to pay the bills saying they were security guards of Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa creating chaos and were arrested by the Colombo Criminal Division in Kollupitiya,” Police spokesman SSP Ranjith Gunasekera said.

The suspects had been at the restaurant for over three hours.

The white van used by the suspects were hired from a cab service in Colombo.

“The suspects were remanded until August 15 and inquiries are underway”, he added.

The two Ministerial Security Division officers were providing security for Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and Kurunegala district MP Akila Kariyawasam.