Six persons, including an interdicted police constable, have been arrested on charges of extorting money from a businessman living in the outskirts of Colombo.
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| Vass Gunawardane |
According to the police, the gang of extortionists had made a lucrative business squeezing money out of businessmen based in different parts of the country. The racket had been going on for years, the police said.
The arrests come as the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) cracks down on extortion rackets in Colombo and the suburbs.
According to Superintendent of Police Vass Gunawardena, the businessman had received a death threat from an unknown caller who demanded Rs. 500,000.
A month later he received another call. This time the caller wanted Rs. 200,000. The businessman made both payments. When, a month later, he received a third call, with a demand for Rs. 60,000, he decided to go to the police.
The extortionists were arrested in Kochchikade, Kotahena, after falling into a trap laid by the police.
Investigations revealed that the gang had used police identity cards in their operations. The interdicted policeman, formerly attached to a police station in Kurunegala, had used his authentic police identity card, while another member of the gang had used a forged police ID card.
SP Gunawardena said the gang’s modus operandi was to collect information about businessmen in different parts of the country, including Colombo, Kurunegala, Ratnapura, Hambantota and Kataragama, and then demand money from them.
“If any person tries to extort money from you, inform the CCD. The department has officers trained to track down persons involved in extortion rackets,” SP Gunawardena said.
The division has also had cases in which extortion victims believed they were paying for protection from the LTTE. |
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