Shantha Bandara's son arrested for robbing 200 million rupees belonging to a Chinese national.

The son of former State Minister Shanta Bandara, who was arrested in connection with the robbery of Rs. 200 million belonging to a Chinese national, is scheduled to be produced before the Colombo Fort Magistrate's Court today (22). He was arrested yesterday when he appeared before the Kollupitiya Police to give a statement.

This robbery took place on July 13 in the Kollupitiya area. Two individuals, posing as police officers, stopped a Chinese national traveling in a vehicle and, under the guise of checking his passport and documents, fled with a bag containing Rs. 200 million. The entire incident was recorded on nearby CCTV cameras.

At the time of the crime, officers from the Kollupitiya Anti-Narcotics Bureau, who were engaged in a drug raid nearby, witnessed the robbery and immediately acted, succeeding in arresting one suspect. Although the suspect initially claimed to have committed the crime alone, further questioning by investigating officers and analysis of phone records revealed information about four more suspects.

Subsequently, three more individuals, including another Chinese national, were taken into police custody in connection with the incident. Investigations revealed that the son of the former State Minister and others were waiting at a nearby location to divide the stolen money among themselves, but fled upon learning of the first suspect's arrest. The son of the former minister, who had thus fled, later surrendered to the police and was subsequently arrested.