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Bloody gang vendetta shows no sign of finale
Last Monday’s shooting in Modera that left six people injured was the latest act in a bloody feud between two rival gangs that goes back four years.
According to police the bloodletting began in 2014, when the father of one gang leader and the mother of the other were murdered within hours of each other. The feud has so far cost eight lives and left several others injured on both sides.
In the latest incident on Monday, two unidentified assailants on a motorbike opened fire on the occupants of a three-wheeler near the Royal Gardens housing complex at Aluth Mawatha, Modera.
Police said the assailants had used a T56 firearm and that nearly 25 bullets had been fired. The three-wheeler driver and his four passengers, including a woman, were injured in the attack. The passengers were from Samitpura, Mattakkuliya. Stray bullets also struck a 58-year-old woman who was passing by in another three-wheeler. All the victims survived.
Police suspect the attack was masterminded by drug trafficker Prasad Ruwan alias “Kudu Roshan”, who is currently in remand custody.
While the shooting happened in Modera, the two groups are both based in Mattakkuliya and it is here that most of the violence linked to the feud has taken place.
According to police, the first drug dealer to effectively run a major drug-trafficking operation from Mattakkuliya was a woman by the name of Melani Kumari. Her main associate was known as Sumiya.
Their heroin trade was highly successful, but Melani had refused to involve her son, “Chooti Ukkun”, in the drug trade.
As Melani’s son grew older, he became aware that his mother was having an affair with her associate. Suspecting that Sumiya might have a hand in preventing him from entering the drug trade, and smarting from the shame he felt over his mother’s affair, Chooti Ukkun had plotted to kill his mother’s lover.
Police say he lured Sumiya and his son into a trap and attacked them. Although Sumiya was hacked to death, his son, “Kudu Roshan”, escaped.
Roshan rushed for help from notorious drug trafficker “Dematagoda Chaminda”, to avenge his father, police said. The same night that Sumiya was killed, men posing as police officers had knocked on the door of Melani Kumari’s house. After they were let in, the men shot Melani dead.
The gang war that subsequently erupted led to a massacre two years later, on October 23, 2016, when a group of armed men allegedly led by Roshan ambushed their rivals at Samitpura, killing Chooti Ukkun and four of his associates.
Kudu Roshan and several of his gang were arrested by police over the crime and are currently in remand awaiting trial.
The massacre did not end the gang war. On June 5, 2017, Gayan Jeewantha, alias “Isuru”, was shot and killed by two men on a motorbike on Ferguson Road, Mattakkuliya. Police said he was the son-in-law of a woman named Nasheeba who had allegedly taken over Roshan’s trafficking operation when he was imprisoned.
Isuru’s alleged assassin was later arrested. Police say he is a contract killer hired from outside. Ukkun’s brother was himself arrested by police in connection with the shooting. He is alleged to be the rider of the motorbike and had transported the assassin to the location. The suspect is currently on bail.
On Monday, the case involving Isuru’s murder was taken up at the Aluthkade No. 2 Magistrate’s Court. Ukkun’s brother, his family and some friends had been present in court that day and were returning home when their three-wheeler was ambushed.
The gunmen, investigators believe, were targeting Ukkun’s brother. He, however, had chosen to ride home alone on a bicycle as a security precaution.
Inspector Bandara Dewatagedara, Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Mattakkuliya Police, told The Sunday Times that apart from the eight lives lost due to the gangland feud, there have been many other violent incidents between the two parties during the past four years.
Since he took over as OIC of Mattakkuliya Police last year, Inspector Dewatagedara said some 24 cases linked to the feud have been filed in court.
Most involve attacks on property and assaults.
“They try to settle things when they are called over to the police. But we do not allow that and we are taking them to court,” the OIC said, adding that this strategy has helped reduce the violence between the two parties.
Nevertheless, as Monday’s incident demonstrated, the threat of serious violence has not entirely dissipated. “Each side wants revenge for wrongs they claim the other has done to them,” Inspector Dewatagedara remarked.
The officer stressed that social, economic and cultural issues were fuelling the drug trade and resulting violence. The Mattakkuliya area, he pointed out, was populated almost entirely by those from poorer neighbourhoods who were evicted and settled here when Colombo hosted the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in 1976.
Since then, little has been done to uplift their living, economic or education standards, the officer lamented. “There are many families here who take turns sleeping in a house since there is not enough room to accommodate them all.”
Drugs began to thrive in the area as Mattakkuliya was a hub for large storage houses. As many as 65 such facilities are located in the area, and some were used by drug traffickers to smuggle in heroin and other drugs.
“The men started becoming addicted to drugs. With the family in economic ruin, many women chose to go overseas for work. The children were left behind with their grandparents, who struggled to control them. These children were used by drug dealers as couriers and many later became addicted to drugs themselves,” Inspector Dewatagedara explained.
The area has a significant number of children who do not attend school and the rate of school dropouts was high, the officer said. Underage marriages were another problem because many teenagers were at home. The lack of trained counsellors in schools also meant many teachers ignored children from troubled homes because they were often violent and uncontrollable.
For their part, police claim they have taken stringent measures to crack down on drug-trafficking. “We have taken action against known drug dealers and are taking additional steps to ensure no new drug kingpins emerge from these areas,” Inspector Dewatagedara said.
Nevertheless, only if all stakeholders unite to address the core issues affecting the community can the situation be fully resolved, he stressed.
| Bikes, helmets and T56 | |
| Monday’s incident was one of several shootings reported within the first two weeks of this month. On December 6, two gunmen on a motorbike, wearing full-face helmets, shot a 30-year-old man near Kaldemulla Junction in Angulana, Mt. Lavinia. The victim, an area resident, died after being admitted to the Kalubowila Teaching Hospital. On Wednesday (12), two unidentified men, also on a motorbike and clad in full-face helmets, shot and killed a 35-year-old businessman at Sapugaskanda. The first incident is suspected to be over a dispute between two rival criminal gangs while the other is thought to have resulted from a personal dispute. In both cases, the assailants had used T56 weapons. No arrests have been made in either incident so far. |
| Police and media roles | |
| The practice of jailing offenders alone will not solve the issue of violent crime, legal experts stress. U R De Silva PC, pointed out that there were several core issues that needed to be addressed regarding violent crime. Unnecessarily highlighting violent crime, especially by many electronic media channels trying to outdo each other, gives the impression that the law and order situation has broken down, but this is clearly not the case, he observed. Nevertheless, the constant coverage has now spread to social media and with many violent movies also being screened, it gives the impression that human life is cheap, he claimed. Narcotics and proliferation of illegal weapons were also part of the problem, he said, adding that those who get arrested are mostly small time dealers, whereas the drug kingpins remain at large. In some cases, those who are arrested aren’t directly connected to the crime, resulting in the cases being dismissed once they go to court. “The police must catch the right culprits,” he noted. He also opined that starting legal education at school level could be another solution as it would enable children to learn about the country’s laws at a young age. Mr De Silva also urged the media to refrain from showing images of violent crime, violent movies and highlighting suicides. Another senior lawyer, who spoke on grounds of anonymity, opined that while political interference in cases had declined, it was still a significant problem. He also noted that a large portion of the police force has a tendency to treat people based on their social status and economic situation. “If you’re poor, chances are that there will be no law and order for you as opposed to someone who is rich. The first question they ask, even before you give your name, is what profession you do. The judging starts from there,” he quipped. While some officers were a credit to their profession, the lawyer said, there needed to be an attitude change in the force, adding that they needed to be educated on this. |