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Woman fraudster’s luck runs out at last
View(s):A woman fraudster, who was on the run after allegedly cheating her unsuspecting victims of millions of rupees, was nabbed by an off-duty policeman in the vicinity of the Gangodawila Court complex earlier this week.
The woman known only as Sujeewa had given the slip to the police on six different occasions but her luck ran out this week when she had to attend the Gangodawila Courts in a case and was spotted by the off-duty policeman who with the assistance of another uniformed officer completed the arrest and handed over the suspect to the Mount Lavinia police for follow up action.
The woman who posed off as a wealthy businessperson involved in the garment industry was successful in inducing her victims to lend large sums of money to her at substantial interest rates and in return she provided them with post-dated cheques that later turned out to be duds.
Her victims were from Maharagama, Athurugiriya, Kottawa, Nugegoda and Piliyandala and the police in all these respective areas were hunting her down but she always gave them the slip.
Investigations have found out that the woman-a mother of two lived in a rented house at Kohuwela and her husband an ex-policeman was booted out of the Department some time back on disciplinary grounds. Her two children attended leading schools in the metropolis, according to police.
The most recent victim of the suspect was a resident of Gammana Road in Erawwala in Pannipitiya. The woman is alleged to have cheated some Rs. 1.8 million and later denied that she had taken any money from the victim and even challenged him to prove it in court. The victim later lodged a complaint with the Special Crime Investigation Unit (SCIU) at the Mirihana Police.
In a complaint made to the Kohuwela Police the victim also alleged that he was threatened with bodily harm after the woman’s husband had charged at him with a knife when he visited the suspect’s home in search of her. Inspector W. P. Weeraratne with the SCIU at the Mirihana Police said that police had completed investigations into this particular complaint and were on the hunt for the suspect when she was arrested at Gangodawila.
He added that the suspect is currently in remand custody and that a court directive will be sought to transfer the case to the Gangodawila Courts once investigations are completed at Mount Lavinia. Police also believe that the woman had busted most of the money on gambling tables in the city’s casinos. The Mount Lavinia and Mirihana police are conducting joint investigations into the case.
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