Yesterday's Ambalangoda murder was a result of a clash between the two gangs 'Saman Kolla' and 'Karandeniya Sudda'.

A 28-year-old youth was killed yesterday in a shooting incident targeting a small party held at a private residence in the Tsunami Watta area of Galagoda, Ambalangoda. The shooting was carried out with a 9mm firearm, and the victim was L.

K. A. Dimuth Sampath. Information was reported that an armed group came from the jungle area behind the house, carried out the shooting, and immediately fled, and the police are currently uncovering information regarding this.

Police suspect that this murder is the result of a long-standing conflict between two organized crime gangs operating in the South. The victim, Dimuth Sampath, has been identified as someone who represented the faction of 'Saman Kolla', a powerful underworld gang leader in the South. Although the deceased had several charges against him, including drug trafficking, carrying out shootings in a populated area like this has become a serious threat to public safety.

According to underworld intelligence, 'Saman Kolla' was once a close associate of 'Karandeniya Sudda', who was involved in the murder of a well-known doctor in Karandeniya. Later, Saman Kolla separated to form his own gang, taking a large number of firearms belonging to Karandeniya Sudda. This split is considered a serious event in the underworld, similar to Karuna Amman's defection from the LTTE organization. Following this separation, fierce retaliations began between the two factions.

Currently, the animosity between these two gang leaders has become so severe that threats have been issued from Karandeniya Sudda's faction to attack anyone associated with 'Saman Kolla'. Accordingly, current investigations suspect that today's murder was orchestrated by Karandeniya Sudda. In the Southern underworld, the groups of Karandeniya Sudda and Dehigedara Bala are on one side, while Kunakuru Santhilaka's faction and Saman Kolla are on the other, maintaining this power struggle.

These underworld conflicts have escalated to a level where they even impact the daily lives of ordinary people in the Southern Province, with criminals becoming audacious enough to emerge from the jungle and open fire at a house party. Even if attacks target criminals, the lives of ordinary citizens in such locations are at severe risk, which is a serious problem. Although the police have attempted to suppress drug trafficking and underworld activities, this incident confirms that these gangs are still actively carrying out their operations.

According to close security sources, a special investigation has been launched into the incident, and scientific evidence is being collected to identify the suspects. Due to these hostile actions between underworld gangs, there is a risk of further similar violent acts in the future, and therefore, steps have been taken to strengthen security in the area. The Sri Lanka Police are currently conducting investigations from various angles, and operations are underway to apprehend individuals connected to the murder.