Father and son arrested for selling the same vehicle's registration book to two individuals

A father and son engaged in vehicle trading, who allegedly sold two tipper trucks bearing the same registration number to two different individuals using a single registration certificate (book), were arrested by the Horana Special Crime Investigation Unit yesterday (17th). The police state that these two suspects, residents of the Kiriella area, are aged 68 and 48 years respectively.

Information regarding this fraud came to light following a complaint made by a resident of the Aluthgama area. According to initial investigations, the suspect son had purchased a tipper truck belonging to a person from Horana, Poruwadanda area, under his father's name through a lawyer, on the basis of completing the lease payments. Subsequently, they sold the said tipper truck to the Aluthgama resident who made the complaint, on the condition of paying the remaining lease installments.

After the buyer completed all lease payments and requested the vehicle's registration certificate from the suspects, they evaded him, claiming it had been destroyed in a flood. Due to suspicion arising from this, the individual complained to the Horana Special Crime Investigation Unit. Officers, acting on the complaint, conducted inquiries and confirmed that another tipper truck using the exact same registration number was located in the Dankotuwa area.

During questioning of the owner of the tipper truck in the Dankotuwa area, it was revealed that he too had purchased the said vehicle from the same father and son duo. Furthermore, the original registration certificate of the vehicle, which was not given to the Aluthgama individual, was found by the police in the possession of the Dankotuwa buyer. Both tipper trucks are currently scheduled to be taken into police custody, and arrangements have been made to produce the arrested suspect father and son duo before the Horana Magistrate's Court.