AG wants police to find out who assisted rogue prison officials to hide from law

The Attorney General (AG) yesterday directed the Acting IGP to identify those who assisted the interdicted Superintendent of the Negombo Prison Anuruddha Sampayo and three other Prison officials to hide from law enforcement officials.

Sampayo and the others were able to evade the police for a few days after court ordered their arrest over irregularities at Negombo Prison.

Issuing a statement, AG’s Coordinating officer, State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne said the Acting IGP had also been instructed to obtain phone records of the suspects to help identify those who helped them.

The AG also instructed the acting IGP to investigate why the Police failed to arrest the four suspects after the arrest warrants were issued. The law enforcers have also been instructed to investigate whether Sampayo was arrested or he had surrendered to the police.

State Counsel Jayaratne also said that the AG was concerned whether the suspects had aided drug trafficking inside the prison and directed the acting IGP to submit a report about it after investigating the case productions, especially the electronic scale found inside a jail cell. Sampayo was arrested last week in Kurunegala after he surrendered to a team of policemen from Negombo. Earlier Sampayo had been suspended for various malpractices inside the prison after the Criminal Investigation Department investigated into various malpractices taking place there.

As a part of this investigation, on February 2020, Department of Prisons carried out a raid and discovered 66 grams of heroin, 11 grams of cannabis, 414 cigarettes, 400 grams of tobacco, 08 mobile phones, 17 SIMs, 12 hands-free devices, 08 Chargers and 02 card-readers from the L Ward at the Negombo Prison. They also found a Digital Electric Scale, used to measure drugs. On 11 May 2020, Prison officials raided three cells at the Negombo Prison and discovered a number of luxury items. These cells housed several key figures involved in drug trafficking and other serious crimes.

 The investigators found that Superintendent of the Negombo Prison, the Head Jailer Sarath Bandara, a 01st Tier Jailer Sarath Nishantha and a 02nd Tier Jailer Kalinga Kaluaggala were involved in these misdeeds and AG’s Department determined that there was sufficient evidence to file charges against them. The others had surrendered to law enforcement officials earlier.