Eight prominent organised crime figures wanted by Sri Lanka are currently being held in custody by foreign law enforcement agencies, with extradition proceedings underway, Police Media Spokesperson Assistant Superintendent F.U. Wootler confirmed on Monday.
Wootler said authorities were working through the necessary legal procedures to bring the suspects back to Sri Lanka “as quickly as possible.” He did not disclose the host countries or name the individual suspects, citing the ongoing nature of the cases.
A separate tranche of 15 additional suspects linked to various crimes is also being pursued, though Interpol Red Notices have not yet been issued against them. Red Notices are the principal international tool used by Sri Lanka to locate and provisionally detain fugitives who have fled abroad to evade court proceedings.
Since 2024, Sri Lanka Police have successfully repatriated 32 organised criminals who had been subject to Red Notices, Wootler said. Several have been brought back from Gulf states, Southeast Asia and parts of Africa, where Sri Lankan underworld networks have long relied on lightly regulated visa regimes.
The latest disclosures follow a sustained push under the NPP government to tackle organised crime, which ministers have identified as a priority area alongside the wider fight against drug trafficking. The Police Special Task Force, CID and Interpol desk have been coordinating with overseas counterparts on extradition files, though progress has often been slowed by bilateral treaty gaps and lengthy host-country court processes.
