The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) said that it had arrested three individuals for allegedly soliciting a bribe in exchange for protecting and releasing an organized criminal who was in Police custody in 2023.
CIABOC on Thursday said that it had arrested Rakitha Nirmala Rajapakshe, the son of former Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe and Organizer of the Horana constituency of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya Charitha Abeysinghe for allegedly demanded a bribe of upto Rs. 500 million from the wife of organized criminal Nadun Chinthaka Wickramaratne, also known as, "Harak Kata".
A third individual, Aruna Sri Chathuranga, a former Director of the Civil Aviation Authority and Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) (AASL), was also arrested.
Context
Wickramaratne was arrested in Madagascar in March 2023, and was later extradited to Sri Lanka, wanted for an alleged drug trafficking operation.
According to the statement from CIABOC, the three suspects had allegedly demanded a bribe from Madhushika Madhuwanthi, the wife of Wickramaratne, who was in Dubai, of Rs. 500 million, which they later reduced to Rs. 200 million, before accepting an advanced payment of Rs. 120 million.
In exchange, they had alleged promised to secure and protect the life of Wickramratne by preventing his assassination, getting his detention orders revoked and transferring him from the Boossa high security prison to another prison, and to facilitate his release from ongoing investigations and related proceedings.
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