A 25-year-old Sri Lankan wanted over several murders alleged in the Southern Province has been arrested in Dubai, Ada Derana reported.
Patabendige Thushan Nethsara, known as “Kalu Malli”, is the younger brother of Shehan Sathsara, alias “Dehibale Malli”, an accused organised criminal and drug trafficker.
An Interpol Red Notice had been issued for the younger brother’s arrest. Dubai authorities detained him on information supplied by the Sri Lanka Police, Ada Derana said.
What has not been reported
Ada Derana did not say when the arrest took place, how many murders the Red Notice covers, when those killings are alleged to have occurred, or where in the Southern Province. Nor did it report whether Sri Lanka has begun extradition or deportation proceedings, or whether Colombo has received formal notification from the United Arab Emirates.
No other verified newsroom had filed on the arrest at the time of writing.
The second Dubai arrest in three days
The case follows the detention in Dubai of the underworld figure known as “Welle Saranga” on 30 August, which Sri Lankan police also attributed to intelligence they had shared with Emirati authorities. In that case, the Daily Mirror reported that Sri Lankan authorities had not yet received official notification from Dubai — a caveat that has not been addressed in Tuesday’s report either.
Dubai has become a recurring destination in Sri Lankan organised-crime cases. Several figures named in police investigations are believed to direct operations from the Gulf while remaining outside Sri Lankan jurisdiction.
The elder brother, Shehan Sathsara, is among them. Police have previously described him and Kanjipani Imran as operating from overseas while directing narcotics distribution inside Sri Lanka. Tuesday’s report does not say where Shehan Sathsara is now, or whether he is also the subject of a Red Notice.
A note on the name
Ada Derana’s report gives the arrested man’s name as Patabendige Thushan Nethsara, while identifying his brother as Shehan Sathsara. LankaNewz has reproduced the spellings as published. Where transliterations of the same family name diverge in a single report, the court record is usually the only reliable arbiter, and none has yet been reported in this case.
