Naula police officers on Thursday arrested a group of eight including a soldier removed from service, along with a pair of handcuffs and two toy pistols, while they were travelling to Bakamuna in a van in preparation to rob a stock of gold that was said to have been recovered from a treasure trove, under the guise of being police officers. Naula Police stated that this group of individuals was arrested after the two toy pistols and a pair of handcuffs were found in the van carrying the group which was traveling on the Elahera road,on Thursday evening at a police roadblock in Naula Maragamuwa and was subject to inspection.
During questioning, it had been revealed that while the individual who had been removed from the army had been in prison in connection with a murder, he had stolen the pair of handcuffs from the prison during a riot that had occurred at the prison premises. This person, a resident of Sandagiriwatte, Asgiriya, Gampaha had been jailed for killing an individual by stabbing with a knife and had been released on bail in January last year.He had said that he had brought the pair of handcuffs with him when he left the prison. The police said that it is absolutely unbelievable that a prisoner could steal a pair of handcuffs and bring it out of prison. Officer-In-Charge of the Naula police Chief Inspector of Police Sampath Heenkenda said that therefore, an inquiry will be made from the Welikada prison. The other suspects who were arrested were residents of Paragastota, Galpana, Rambukkana,Gampaha, Nebada and Milleniya. Police said they were between the ages of 47 and 23. The police said that among these suspects are drivers and workers by profession, as well as an aluminum mechanic and a devil charmer.
The military suspect had said during police questioning that a person in Bakamuna was preparing to sell a stock of gold recovered from a treasure trove and his intention was to go there posing as buyers who were going to purchase this stock of gold under the guise of being police officers and steal the stock of gold. The police said that it is unusual to take so many people for robbery or to buy gold, even under the guise of police officers.