Crime boss attempted to get his hitmen killed by poisoning them

Police said the person who poisoned two suspects, detained at the Wolfendhal Police Station, on Wednesday, over a recent shooting at Jinthupitiya, Kotahena, with cyanide, is an associate of crime boss Pukudu Kanna.

The two men, who were poisoned, also belong to Pukudu Kanna’s gang.

The suspects, Chamindu Darshan (27) and Lakshitha Fernando (29), were admitted to the Colombo National Hospital on Wednesday (07) after consuming a packet of milk laced with cyanide given to them by a visitor.

The two remain in a critical condition, police said. The two suspects, on 24 January 2024, shot a person at Jinthupitiya. The victim died while undergoing treatment at the Colombo National Hospital. Police said that one of the assailants, his weapon, and the motorbike he was travelling on had been seized by residents of the area and handed over to the police. This suspect was produced before courts and was remanded. The one who escaped after the shooting and another accomplice were later arrested by the police and detained at the Wolfendhal Police Station pending them being produced in court, when the poisoning took place.Pukudu Kanna is reported to be hiding abroad.