Three men accused of impersonating officers of the Sri Lanka Police and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and robbing gold jewellery, cash and other valuables worth millions of rupees from victims across 15 police divisions over three years have been arrested.
The suspects, aged 40, 44 and 45 and residents of the Daulagala area in Udunuwara, have been remanded until July 24 by the Gampola Magistrate’s Court, police said.
Investigators say the men travelled to various areas and stopped vehicles and people travelling alone, posing as police or CID officers, levelling accusations, conducting fake inspections and robbing victims of cash and jewellery. The alleged robberies, carried out since 2023, spanned Peradeniya, Kandy, Slave Island, Grandpass, Mawanella, Narammala, Pilimatalawa, Daulagala, Gampola, Galaha, Kegalle and Kadugannawa.
In one incident in the Kegalle area, the suspects allegedly told victims they had been instructed by a senior officer to bring them to the police station, escorted them to near the Kegalle Police Station, robbed them of cash and gold, and fled. Police said the men also entered homes under the pretext of conducting searches, confined the occupants and stole valuables.
Acting on intelligence gathered after a similar robbery in Gampola, police arrested one suspect in Peradeniya and the other two in Pilimatalawa. Investigations are continuing.
