Bus Lalith, arrested in Dubai, spills information

Lalith Kannangara alias 'Bus Lalith', an organized crime and drug trafficker arrested in Dubai, has been subjected to extensive interrogation by the Central Criminal Investigation Bureau under a 72-hour detention order after being brought to Sri Lanka. During these investigations, information and secrets regarding several murders suspected to have been committed by the suspect have now been revealed to the investigating officers.

In a special operation conducted under the direct supervision of Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala and Inspector General of Police Priyantha Weerasuriya, Sri Lankan and Dubai police teams jointly arrested him in October 2025. This operation was carried out by a team of officers, including Senior Superintendent of Police Kamal Ariyawansa, who is in charge of the Central Criminal Division, under the direction of Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Ranmal Kodithuwakku and Deputy Inspector General of Police Chandana Kodithuwakku. After the suspect's appeal against his arrest, filed in the Dubai court, was rejected, steps were taken to deport him to Sri Lanka.

Accordingly, a team consisting of Senior Superintendent of Police Kamal Ariyawansa and officers from the State Intelligence Service and the Criminal Investigation Department went to Dubai and took custody of the suspect. 'Bus Lalith', who was handed over under special security at Dubai Airport on the night of the 24th, was brought to the island on a SriLankan Airlines flight around 5:00 AM on the 25th. There, he was first subjected to preliminary questioning by officers of the Criminal Investigation Department's airport unit. Furthermore, Dubai authorities have revealed that suspects Alto Dharme, Wanathe Chathur, and Konda Ranji are also in their custody, and that they will also be swiftly deported to Sri Lanka in the future.

During the preliminary interrogations of Bus Lalith, who is suspected of murdering six people on five occasions, information about several crimes has been revealed. Among them are the murder of a businessman on December 18, 2022, by a gunman named 'Booru Moona' for failing to pay ransom, and the murder of Vajira Nishantha, who gave him a bus conductor job when he was unemployed, on September 30, 2024, for not paying ransom.

Additionally, it is reported that Mudunkotuwa Don Shantha alias 'Bana Manthri' was murdered in 2025 because he adopted a two-faced policy. Although Bana Manthri provided the numbers of five businessmen and arranged for ransom demands, later providing the same numbers to an opposing underworld gang led to this murder. Furthermore, the suspect has stated that Manna Roshan and one of his close associates were murdered on Christmas Day 2023 due to unnecessary chatter, and that he also murdered an associate who collected a ransom amount higher than what he had stipulated.

Faced with severe threats from him, operating in the Meegoda and Padukka areas, several businessmen had abandoned the area and fled. The people in those areas expressed their gratitude to the government by lighting firecrackers, regarding the bringing of this dangerous criminal to the country and the enforcement of law.