The Elpitiya Divisional Criminal Investigation Bureau has begun an extensive investigation to arrest an organised gang who showing firearms attacked a young man from Balapitiya to Elpitiya to meet a young woman identified on Facebook and a student who came to buy a cheap mobile phone according to an advertisement published on Facebook and robbed their money, gold jewellery including other properties.
The young man who came to meet the young woman on Facebook was robbed at Elpitiya, Waturawila road on August 22 at around 7.30 pm. He is a 22-year-old resident of Paruthota in Balapitiya.
According to an ad seen on Facebook, a 16-year-old student was robbed when he went to buy a cheap mobile phone. The Police said he is a resident of Palugahawatta in Gonapeenuwala and was robbed near the Katapage culvert in Pitigala Wattahena.
The 22-year-old young man met a girl named Sanduni on Facebook a week or two ago. The Police said he had built a relationship with her through facebook. The girl had invited the young man to meet her at a place on the Elpitiya Waturawila road. That was at night time. The Police said the young man went to meet her on Aug 22 night well-dressed.
When the young man went to the place where the girl asked him to come to meet her, there were only two people standing there. Elpitiya Police said the two attacked the young man with an iron pole and threatened to kill him, robbed him of his gold necklace, ring and bracelets and then took the money from his wallet. According to the complaint made by the young man, it appears that they have robbed him of properties worth Rs. 708,000.
Investigations have also revealed that this young man was robbed after bringing him to the place in an organised manner.
Elpitiya SSP Indika Lokuhetti said that it was found during the investigation that the same group robbed the Pitigala school student. According to the ad on the Facebook page, the student had come to Pitigala from Gonapinuwala on a motorcycle with a friend to buy a cheap mobile phone. The complaint made by the student to the Pitigala Police states that they robbed the two of them by showing them a firearm and a knife. A gold necklace worth Rs.185,000 which the student was wearing, and a mobile phone worth Rs. 50,000 which he was carrying at that time, were also stolen by the robbers.
In conducting an investigation regarding these two complaints, it has been found that the young man contacted the person who appeared to be a young woman on the Facebook page and the student contacted the person who posted the advertisement on the Facebook page regarding the sale of mobile phones at a low price to the same phone number. Police have managed to identify the criminals through that phone number.
A Police officer who is investigating said that a woman is also involved in this group and it appears that this group has deceived many other people and brought them to deserted places and robbed them of money and gold items. The officer further said that many people have not complained to the Police about it due to shame.
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