The alleged organised crime figure known as “Kehelbaddara Padme” has been remanded until September 3 by the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court, ending a period of nearly a year in which he was held under successive detention orders rather than in judicial custody.
Hiru News named him as Koralagamage Mandinu Pathmasiri Perera. He was produced before Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama by the Criminal Investigation Department on Tuesday under heavy security, both Ada Derana and Hiru News reported, and the magistrate ordered him remanded.
Detained since a Katunayake arrival last August
Hiru News reported that the CID asked for remand because the detention period had expired. He was arrested at Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake, on August 31, 2025, on arrival from Indonesia, and had been questioned under detention orders from then until Tuesday — a span of just under 12 months.
Investigators told the court that charges have been framed against him under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
Also named in the Aluthkade court shooting
The CID additionally asked the court to direct the Superintendent of Prisons to produce him on September 4, the date on which a second case is next called. In that case he is named as the 18th suspect in the murder of “Ganemulla Sanjeewa”, who was shot dead inside the Aluthkade court complex in February 2025.
That numbering sits oddly against earlier reporting. In May, investigators told Ada Derana that Padme was the prime suspect in the same killing, in the course of alleging that “Gampaha Ousmand” had run his money laundering and that the pair’s long-running public feud had been staged to mislead police. Suspects in Sri Lankan cases are numbered by the order in which they are named rather than by alleged culpability, and neither outlet addresses the difference.
A second remand the same morning
The same magistrate remanded a second suspect until September 3 hours later. Nilanga Sampath Silva, alias “Panadura Nilanga”, described by Ada Derana as an alleged drug trafficker, was also produced by the CID after being held under a detention order, and was remanded to the same date.
Neither man has been convicted. The allegations against both remain untested in court.
