Madhush Kills Kos Malli: An eye for an eye

by Hemantha Randunu

Translated by Uditha Devapriya

Makandure Madush is known as the Godfather of the underworld in modern-day Sri Lanka. A huge number of heinous crimes were done in Sri Lanka at his orders. He was also a major player in the heroin trade. After Madush was caught by the police he was detained at the CID for more than a year. Nothing came up from the interrogation. So he was handed over to the Colombo Crimes Division for further questioning.

Two or three days before his assassination, he revealed to a senior official information related to the crimes he had committed for nearly 20 years. He revealed all this in half an hour. This article is based on information taken from Madush’s confession.

One of the most brutal crimes in the history of the underworld in the country was the murder of Kos Malli and the exhibition of his decapitated head near the Hultsdorp court complex. Madush revealed step by step how he planned the murder of Kos Malli. It was really a revenge murder, planned in response to a murder of one of his confidantes, a man called Riskan. “Sir,” he remembered, “though Riskan was Muslim, he was like my brother. I will never forget the day he was murdered. Tears still well up in my eyes.

“Riskan helped me out once I was released from prison. After I was released I had nowhere to go and no place to live. Riskan took care of me when no one was there for me. Because of him I could enjoy life. After robbing a leasing company and killing Danny Hittatiyage’s brother-in-law, I was imprisoned in Negombo prison for six or seven years.

“During this time Kanjipani Imran became a good friend of mine. He was at Maligawatte. I got to know Riskan through Imran. Riskan gave me a place to stay in Colombo. My life began to turn for the better when I started working with him. By now I had gained enemies in the police, the criminal underworld, and a few politicians.

“My life was in great danger at that time. I wanted to get out of the country. I told Riskan about it. Riskan had good connections in Dubai. He was in the smuggling business with several Dubai businessmen. He arranged for me to go to Dubai. I had several cases in the courts and was banned from leaving the country. But Riskan arranged a forged passport under another name and prepared everything to fly me off to Dubai.

“He had arranged with several businessmen in Dubai to look after me and to accommodate me. When I said goodbye to him that day, I felt grateful to him. Later Kanjipani also came to Dubai. His presence emboldened me. Kanjipani Imran and I worked together to help Riskan, who mostly imported counterfeit cigarettes from Dubai to Sri Lanka.

“Later we got involved in the heroin business. Before long we became millionaires. I was able to get all the comforts of life in Dubai all because of Riskan.”

Madush thought for a moment. A flood of memories was swamping his mind.

“Riskan was killed on March 16, 2018. I have never been so sad. Only the day my mother was killed did I feel such sadness. Riskan had been brutally murdered because of me. The Kaduwela underworld killed him to get revenge on me and to hurt me. Riskan had no problems or any connections with the Kaduwela underworld. There was no reason why he should have been killed, other than his association with me.

“The Kaduwela Clique was full hate against for me after I planned and executed the murder of Samayan in Kalutara on the prison bus. At that time Gotha Asanka and Urujuwa ran the Kaduwela Underworld. They were the ones who planned the murder of Riskan. In the end Riskan had to pay for my sins.

“I was also involved in Riskan’s business in Sri Lanka. I had invested around Rs. 100 million in his newly started car rental service and other businesses. It didn’t matter if I lost my money. I was simply devastated that I lost a friend like that.

“I still remember that day like it was today. Riskan spoke to me twice or thrice that morning. That afternoon I got a call telling me that a group had come to the Kotahena office and shot him dead. I forgot where I was. I could not even imagine what had happened. I wanted to scream loudly and cry. I never dreamed he would be killed because of me.

Makandure Madhush was visibly saddened recalling the incident. The senior police officer saw grief, hatred, anger, and revenge was still lingering in his mind.

“Urujuwa and Gotha Asanka were in remand at that time. The two of them had set up the murder of Riskan. Two men from Kaduwela underworld had come on a bike and jumped into Riskan’s office and had shot him. However, one of the killers was captured by people in Kotahena and they had beaten him to death. The other had escaped on a bike from the crowd. A few days later, he was arrested by the police.

“I was so upset and enraged that my actions led to Riskan’s death, I wanted to kill everyone who had been involved in the murder. But at that time all involved were in remand. The only one out there that was connected to murder was Kos Malli. Actually, Kos Malli did not have anything to do with the murder. But his bike was used for the murder and I received information that he had spied on Riskan. Thus the only way to do justice to Riskan’s death was to kill Kos Malli.

I entrusted this task to Loku Ayya in Angunakolapelessa. Loku Ayya is very close to me. He was a JVP member during the 88/89 civil unrest. After our mother was killed, Loku Ayya took care of me. He helped me a lot when I was growing up. I treated him well for all that. I told him I wanted to avenge Riskan’s death. He had a good intelligence network in the underworld. And when he is assigned a task, he does it to perfection.

I told him that we have to do something that would shock the whole country. Those who killed Riskan will not be punished by the law. Kos Malli must therefore pay the price and his head must be presented to the court complex. Only then will justice be done. I handed over Kos Malli’s death contract to Loku Ayya. Kos Malli was in hiding.

“I deployed my own team to find Kos Malli. I have people to find anything anywhere in Sri Lanka. We found out that Kos Malli had a link with a boy named Madhu who worked at a massage center. Madhu knew where Kos Malli was. We contacted Madhu and made a plan to find out where Kos Malli was. There was a boy named Srimal in Angoda Boss’s gang. He was a distant relative of Madhu. Angoda Boss helped get Madhu involved in this case through Srimal. At that time Angoda Boss was in India. After Samayan’s murder he had fled to India with Ladiya. Angoda Lokka gave full support to do this plan from there. In the meantime, we found the whereabouts of Kos Malli through Srimal and Madhu.

“We were able to bring Kos Malli to Angunakolapelessa through Madhu saying that he would set up a hiding place for him. Kos Malli really believed that Madhu was helping him. He was caught to our trap. Srimal took a vehicle and brought Kos Malli to Angunakolapelessa and handed him over to Loku Ayya. Kos Malli didn’t have a clue who Loku Ayya was and what he was about to do.

On the day of the murder, I instructed Loku Ayya to feed and treat the man well. Ralahami and Amila Sampath were involved in the plan to aid Loku Ayya.

Amila Sampath has committed 30 to 40 murders. He was not afraid of anything. There was a large block of land near Angunakolapelessa Gotabhayagama. It was Loku Ayya’s. We had picked it as the place of Kos Malli’s murder and burial.

That night Loku Ayya, Ralahami and Amila Sampath came to the pasture with Kos Malli saying they have organized a party. But in the middle of the jungle he became suspicious and tried to escape. Loku Ayya threatened him by pointing a T-56 weapon at his head. He told Kos Malli he was here from the Army. Kos Malli became scared and obeyed his orders. Loku Ayya took a WhatsApp video call to me so I could talk to Kos Malli. He begged for forgiveness, but I wanted revenge. Amila Sampath had been assigned to shoot Kos Malli. Kos Malli was shot and I saw it happen through WhatsApp. I told Loku Ayya to cut off his head and parcel it. It arrived by car to the courts in Aluthkade.

“Remoshan, the son of Selli of Jampettah Street, was ready to take Kos Malli’s head on the Armour Street side. I had another boy ready to help him. I told Remoshan to put the head in front of the court. But by then it was the late in the morning and people were starting to walk around the place. So I told them to put the head somewhere nearby. The head was left on the side of the road. The whole of Sri Lanka was shocked that day. The police discovered the cause of death and the motivation behind it. Not only the police but the whole of Sri Lanka knew how powerful Madush’s team was now.

“Ralahami and Amila Sampath who killed Kos Malli stayed at the house of one of my relatives in Kamburupitiya for a while. But two or three days after the incident, Ralahami and Amila Sampath were caught by the police. A sergeant of the Kamburupitiya police had given information about the two. I called this sergeant on the phone from Dubai and threatened him. A lot can be bought for money sir. I’m not afraid of them.

“I slept well the night Kos Malli was killed and his head was brought to court. At last justice had been served for my brother Riskan’s death.”