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Jail-time friendship led triple murderer to heroin trade
The major heroin-dealer arrested by police had been drawn into the dark trade while in remand facing trial for the triple murder of family members, a police investigation has revealed.A close alliance struck up with a narcotics dealer behind bars led the man into the heroin trade, a senior official attached to the Police Narcotics Bureau told The Sunday Times. The revelations came as the bureau busted a major drug racket by detecting the man involved in the peddling of drugs in Colombo, Moratuwa, Ragama, Wattala and Negombo.
Kumaraswamy Krishan, 30, was apprehended by police last Sunday for the alleged possession and distribution of heroin. Police found 3kg of heroin worth Rs. 30 million along with Rs. 2.4m in cash in his possession. Police investigations had earlier revealed that he was the primary accomplice of deceased drug peddler Kudu Lalith.
Krishan had been closely watched by a team of plainclothed policemen as he drove into the Wattala Arpico Supercentre carpark. He parked his red Hyundai car (number HM4020), like a normal customer, and got into a white jeep (CAC9560) and tried to drive away but was then arrested.
Police had been keeping under surveillance a house he had allegedly rented n Aniyakanda, Ragama. “The man had allegedly carried out a scheme where he would park the vehicle containing a load of heroin (neatly packed into several packages marking their weight) in a public carpark. He would later arrive back in another vehicle which was used for distribution,” the senior police officer revealed.
The officer explained how Krishan’s scheme worked. He would park a vehicle containing drugs in a busy carpark where one vehicle among many others did not attract special attention. He would then arrange various rendezvous with addicts and take packages from the car and distribute the drugs using another vehicle for transport.
Krishan was 27 years old at the time of his first arrest. This was for the triple murder of his father, mother and younger sister at their rented home in Ramakrishna Terrace, Wellawatte, in 2012. “Krishan was employed as a medical rep at the time,” a senior police officer said.
During interrogation this week, Krishan had claimed his father had needed an operation that cost about Rs. 800,000.
“He had borrowed this sum at a fixed interest rate but had later defaulted on the interest payments,” the officer said, quoting Krishan’s story to police.
“When his creditors came after him he said he had thought to himself that if anything happened to him there wouldn’t be anyone else to look after his family. “Therefore he resorted to the option that he said he thought would save him and his family from this situation, and that was to murder his parents and his younger sister and commit suicide himself.”
Putting his scheme into execution, Krishan had acquired antidepressant pills from his workplace and allegedly fed them to his family after mixing them into yoghurt.” He told police that he had eaten the yoghurt himself but had vomited and this had saved him.
On August 18, 2012 the police followed a tip-off by one of Krishan’s friends who had complained of a foul smell coming from the house. This friend had tried to contact Krishan for few days over a business issue and had finally gone to the house to meet him.
Police broke open the door and entered to find the decomposing bodies of Kumaraswamy, 58, his wife, Poovathy, 56, and their daughter Amita Priya, 25.
The hunt was on for Krishan, who was eventually spotted in Kadawatha, where he was arrested while travelling in a bus from Colombo to Kurunegala. Police investigations had revealed that Krishan, allegedly a spendthrift, was heavily in debt for millions. Police had believed that the debt was the motive for the crime.
Police media Spokesperson ASP Ruwan Gunasekara confirmed that Krishan had told police this week that the motivation behind the killings were his father’s operation and the defaulting on the interest payments. Krishan was remanded for three years at the Colombo Magazine Prison while awaiting trial.
“It was here that he met Kudu Lalith, a notorious drug peddler,” a senior officer told The Sunday Times.“Kudu Lalith at the time was serving two years in prison after he was nabbed with 8kg of heroin. They became friends in prison. Kudu Lalith got out before Krishan did and soon he met his old friends and started his drug business again,” the officer said.
“Lalith was on the lookout for partners and in Krishan he had spotted a lonely boy who was ready for anything. He decided to recruit Krishan. Sometime after Kudu Lalith got out of prison, he spent money and bailed Krishan out,” the officer said.
This was the beginning of Krishan’s alleged involvement with heroin.
“Being one of Kudu Lalith’s main accomplices, Krishan managed Lalith’s drug enterprise by handling money transactions and transportation etc. This was how he built his contacts,” the senior official said. On September 9 last year, Kudu Lalith was killed in a confrontation with police in Athurugiriya.
“Soon after this, Krishan, together with Lalith’s mistress, continued the heroin business. He rented several houses and vehicles for this purpose. His connections were well established now and he distributed heroin in the Colombo, Moratuwa, Ragama, Wattala and Negombo areas,” the officer said.
“Kudu Lalith had amassed a huge fortune through heroin distribution. Among his possessions were a three-storey luxury house and two hybrid cars. “Krishan, however, lived alone. He rented several houses and did not stick to one residence,” the officer said adding that investigations were currently underway to locate Krishan’s assets.
Krishan’s statement has also revealed the whereabouts of his accomplices and the police are currently engaged in conducting further investigations into the matter.
Sophisticated drug networks keep tracks covered
The illicit drug market in the country is well advanced, with the various distributers being clever about taking precautions against arrest. “It is a difficult task for an investigator to find the evidence required,” a senior Police Narcotics Bureau officer said.
He alleged that although police had made breakthroughs in arresting the likes of Wele Sudha, Kudu Nuwan and, more recently, Krishan Kumaraswamy, the real kingpins were several high-ranking businessmen and most of those arrested were merely pawns in the major industry.
“Many of these drug lords have a second business that covers any suspicion that may arise. The chain is so wide that the smallest pawn would not know about the dealer above him and the police are faced with the harder task of linking the suspect to the dealers higher in the hierarchy,” the official said.
In most cases the ring leaders would operate outside the country, making arrests even more difficult.“Most drug dealers like Wasantha Mendis and Wele Sudha, for example, conducted their business over the telephone. They don’t often work in the field. They could run a drug business in Sri Lanka while operating all the way from Pakistan. The investigator can’t rely on a statement by the accused alone. He has to investigate each of the alleged drug lords separately,” the officer said.