Colombo Crime Division officers arrested the alleged mastermind behind a high-profile Chinese kidnapping and murder case yesterday at Port City. The suspect had been on the run for 43 days and was wearing a hairpiece in a clumsy disguise when cornered. With this latest arrest, five Chinese nationals are now in custody over the abduction, murder, and burial of a fellow countryman.
The case broke in late July when rural police discovered a male body covered in red earth inside an abandoned building at an orchard. A luxury car was found abandoned by the roadside the same day. Investigators later identified the victim as a Chinese national who had been abducted from Colombo's Port City.
Earlier arrests saw accomplices nabbed as they scrambled to flee: some were intercepted at the airport trying to board flights out of the country, while others were tracked down to hideouts in Sigiriya hotels as police pieced the trail together.
Local media reported that the 54-year-old principal suspect will be produced in court to seek a detention order. The arrest has been a major talking point around town, with locals and expats shaking their heads over the gang's elaborate attempts to evade capture—right down to the wig—only to end up in handcuffs anyway.
