This is a list of some notable organized crime figures within the underworld of Sri Lanka.
| Name | Life | Years Active | Comments | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunil Perera alias Gonawala Sunil | died February 1990 | 1978–1990 | Gonawala Sunil is one of the worst earliest criminal gang leaders in Sri Lankan underworld. He allegedly had been abused by old men connected with the UNP government at that time. He was involved in the massacre of 53 prisoners at Welikada Prison in 1983 and raping a 14-year-old girl in 1982. He was convicted of the murder, and was serving in prison when he was famously released on a presidential pardon given by President J.R. Jayewardene just before the 1982 presidential election. Subsequently, he was made an all-island Justice of the peace (JP). He had also been the bodyguard of Prime minister of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremasinghe, who was the Minister of Education of the J.R. Jayawardene government at that time. Sunil was killed at Biyagama hotel by unknown assassins in February 1990. | [1][2] |
| Arambawelage Don Upali Ranjith alias Soththi Upali | died 1998 | 1970–1998 | He was said to be a close ally of B. Sirisena Cooray, the Minister of Housing and Construction of Premadasa government. Sri Lankan Police officers allegedly have addressed him as "sir" during that time. He served as a reserve sub inspector at one time and was included in the UNP executive body by President Premadasa. In 1997, a presidential commission appointed by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga concluded that Upali was directly involved in assassination of Lalith Athulathmudali. Before the trial against him was finished, he was killed by a rival gang led by Kaduwela Raja on December 17, 1998. | [3][4][5] |
| Usliyanage Chinthaka Nalin Perera alias Chinthaka Amarasinghe | died 1996 | 1980s–1996 | Amarasinghe was considered to be the archrival of Soththi Upali, when he was at the height of his power. Also involved in numerous other murders, he gunned down Malu Nihal and Cheena – who were major henchmen of Upali, at Gothamipura in March 1993. It was alleged that Amarasinghe was supported by politician affiliated to People's Alliance. Chinthaka Amarasinghe hails from a crime-related family, with his uncle Noel Amarasinghe was the chief suspect in the Kollupitiya Tavern robbery case in 1966. He was killed at Thotalanga by a rival gang led by Kalu Ajit in 1996. | [3][6][7][8] |
| Dhammika Amarasinghe | died 2004 | 1990s–2004 | Brother of a former underworld stalwart Chinthaka Amarasinghe, Dhammika Amarasinghe is considered to be the most feared Sri Lankan underworld figure, ever. He was wanted for at least 50 murders and 17 bank robberies during the 1990s to 2004. It was reported that Dhammika had lost 16 of his family members due to the clashes with other underworld gangs. He was a close associate of Thilanga Sumathipala, the Colombo District MP. In 1999, Sumathipala - when he was the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka, facilitated Dhammika with thousands of sterling pounds to go and watch the Cricket World Cup held in England in the fake name of Buddhika Priyashantha Godage under a forged passport.[9] This sparked a huge controversy in Sri Lankan political arena. He was also associated with Lohan Ratwatte, a Kandy District MP. Dhammika was killed on January 9, 2004, inside the court room no.6 of Colombo Magistrate by an Army deserter named Siriwardanage Chaminda Udaya Kumara. It was speculated that he was killed in order to conceal the conduct of several high-ranking politicians, during the hearing of court cases. | [3][7][8][10][11][12][13] |
| Bulathsinghalage Sirisena Cooray alias Sirisena Cooray | 1931–2021 | 1970s–1990s | He was the Mayor of Colombo from 1979 to 1989 and was elected from Colombo to Parliament in the 9th parliamentary election in 1989. He was an ally of Soththi Upali and other mobs. There are some conspiracy theories regarding Central Bank bombing as well, referring to the Premadasa's death. There is a conspiracy theory that UNP's Sirisena Cooray cooperated with the LTTE to the bombing, maybe with the plan to actually not hurt Premadasa. Well, Sirisena Cooray is in almost every conspiracy theory regarding assassinations of politicians in 1985s-1994, because he ran the Colombo underworld scene at that time. | [14][15] |
| Ajith Dhammika alias Kalu Ajith | died 1997 | 1980s–1997 | Kalu Ajith was involved in the killing of Chinthaka Amarasinghe in 1996. He was killed by Chinthaka's brother, Dhammika on July 16, 1997. | [3][7] |
| A.H.L.D Wasantha Darmasiri Jayarathna alias Kaduwela Wasantha | 1965–2002 | 1980s–2002 | Kaduwela ally with Chinthaka and Kalu Ajith. Finally killed by a rival gang led by Dhammika Amarasinghe on May 26, 2002. | [16][17] |
| Iresh | died 2001 | 1994–2001 | Involved in several murders, kidnapping etc. Chased and got killed by a rival gang in nugegoda. His was considered one of the young members to enter the IRC book of thugs. | [18] |
| Moratu Saman | died 2003 | 1990s–2003 | Key suspect of the assassination of the controversial politician Kumar Ponnambalam. Moratu Saman was initially a close ally of Dhammika Amarasinghe but eventually fell out with him. Amarasinghe attempted to kill him in 2002. He was killed by a rival gang led by Thoppi Chaminda in 2003. | [19][20] |
| Koswattage Donald Nihal Wickremasinghe alias Nawala Nihal | died 2006 | 1976–2000s | Nihal was involved in several murders and extortion rackets over the years. He killed the prominent underworld figure, Kalu Ajit and two of his henchmen at Aththidiya. He is considered as the godfather of Colombo underworld during his high time. He distributed money among the poor. He was given protection by many corrupted police officers in Welikada and Nugegoda Divisions. Nawala Nihal was abducted and killed by a gang led by his mistress Renuka Wasanthi. | [21][22] |
| Kitulgamaralalage Ajith Wasantha alias Vambotta | died 2006 | 2000–2006 | It was reported that 3 of Vambotta's sisters were allegedly raped, tortured and killed by a rival family. This had led to a series of revenge killings with more than 25 of the rival family members being killed and their property destroyed. He was wanted for 10 murders, extortion and kidnapping. He had allegedly started his life by selling vegetables at Sooriyawewa, hence the name Vambotta (Brinjal). He was killed by a rival gang named "Ratnaweera gang" in April 2006. He is known for having a connection between the president Mahinda Rajapaksa. | [23][24] |
| Jayakody Arachchige Ruwan Perera alias Olcott | 1977–2010 | 1988–2010 | Hailed from Magazine Road, Borella in Colombo city, He was linked to more than 28 killings, several robberies and abductions in Colombo and its suburbs. He earned a lot of fortune through drug trade, especially heroin. He owned two luxury residences in Colombo and Kurunegala. Olcott was involved in the LTTE's failed assassination attempt of President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga along with Thel Bala and Kimbulaela Guna, two other notorious gang leaders. He disappeared from Sri Lanka after that and lived in Tamil Nadu for more than a decade. He returned to Sri Lanka in 2009. His mansion was stormed by Special Task Force soldiers in September 2010. He was arrested and subsequently killed by the soldiers, when he tried to grab the weapon of an officer. | [25] |
| Kamal Dammalarachchi alias Dematagoda Kamal | 1971–2010 | 1990s–2010 | Dematagoda Kamal was involved in at least 15 murders including the killing of Dushyantha Senevirathne – the Leader of Opposition in the Galle Municipal Council. He was killed when he allegedly tried to throw a bomb at the Police. | [26] |
| Sinniah Gunasekeran alias Kimbula-Ela Guna | died 2017 | 1990s–2008 | Kimbula-Ela Guna was a major drug dealer in Sri Lanka. He was involved in LTTE activities also. He took part in LTTE's failed attempt to kill President Chandika Kumaratunga in 1999. After that, he fled Sri Lanka and is currently living in Tamil Nadu, South India. It is alleged that he had monitored and conducted the drug trafficking activities in Sri Lanka from there. In 2008, he was arrested by Tamil Nadu Police | [25][27][28] |
| Thel Baala | died 2017 | 2014s–2017 | Ganeshalingam saipriyan was a prominent drug dealer and gang leader around Jaffna in Sri Lanka during the late 2014s and early 2018s. He fled to jaffna following complications of an organ transplant. | [29][25][30] |
| Ashoka Upanitha Perera alias Pamankada Asoka | died 2000[31] | 1980s–2000 | Former underworld leader , who led organized crime in Sri Lanka. He was alleged on murder of Six people were brutally shot dead in 1999 near Delkanda. He was killed by a rival gang led by Beddagana Sanjeewa on 28 June 2000. | [32] |
| Ronald Prince Collom alias Prince | 1973–2007 | 1992–2007 | Collom was involved in various murders in the Kotahena and Grandpass areas. His primary operating area was the around Bloemendhal garbage dump. Collom was killed by a rival gang in 2007. | [30][33] |
| M.K. Imtiaz alias Anamalu Imtiaz | died 2009 | 1990s–2009 | Anamalu Imtiaz was involved in at least 39 murders, including contract killings. He was also heavily involved in other areas of crime, including extortion and drug dealing. He operated in Maligawatte, and was kidnapped and killed by an unknown rival gang on July 9, 2009. | [34][35] |
| A.V Iran Dansuka Perera alias Beddagana Sanjeewa | 1972–2001 | 1990s–2001 | Beddagana Sanjeewa, a trusted colleague of Chandrika’s (Former President of Sri Lanka) security team, can be considered as a pet criminal brought up in the lap of Temple Trees. He ruled the underworld from Temple Trees. He implemented programs that oppressed and persecuted individuals at the behest of Chandrika or her close associates. | [36][37] |
| Gampola Vidanelage Samantha Kumara alias Wele Suda | 1970s | 2000s–2015 | Wele Suda is the biggest international drug dealer that was brought into justice so far. He was arrested in Pakistan and brought to Sri Lanka on February 14, 2015, for allegedly obtaining an amount of Rs. 170 million by trafficking drugs. | [38] |
| Samaarasingha Arachchige Madush Lakshitha alias Makandure Madush | 1979–2020[39] | 2002–2020-10-20 | Makandure Madush was an underworld leader and a drug kingpin, who led organized crime and drug trafficking in Sri Lanka. He was alleged on murder of Southern Development Authority Chairman Danny Hittetiyage in 2006. He escaped to Dubai and managed to operate his network from there, until he was arrested in Dubai on 04-02-2019. Madush was shot dead on Oct 20th 2020 during a shootout with the police and unknown gunmen at the Maligawatta housing complex. | [40][41][42] |
| Mohommad Najim Mohommad Imran alias Kanjipani Imran | 1980s | 2010s | One of the notorious drug dealer and underworld kingpin operated in Colombo. He was arrested in Dubai along with Makandure Madush on 04-02-2019. On 25 August 2019, he was sentenced to six years of rigorous imprisonment by Colombo High Court for possessing and trafficking of 5.3 kg of cannabis. Again he was further arrested over another case involving death threatening to two police officers while he was overseas. | [43][44][45] |
| Aruna Damith Udayanga alias Ranale Samayan | 1989–2017 | 2007–2017 | He was killed by a rival gang led by Angoda Lokka and Makandure Madush according to the police sources. | [46][47] |
| Maddumage Chandana Lasantha Perera alias Angoda Lokka | died 2020[48] | 2000s–2020 | Angoda Lokka murdered another underworld figure called "Samayan" in 2017.The underworld gangster Maddumage Lasantha Chandana Perera alias Angoda Lokka died of a heart attack in Coimbatore, India while he was living in disguise planning and executing various criminal activities in Sri Lanka through his henchmen. | [49][42] |
| Indunil Vajira Kumara alias Indra | died 2020 | 2010–2020 | Indra was identified as a shooter of an underworld gang led by Samayan. He was shot dead by police while attempting to strangle a police constable during he was taken to find hidden weapon stock in Ranala area. Several weapons were uncovered the police during the operation. | [50][51][52] |
| Rajapaksa Arachchige Dinuka Madushan alias Keselwatte Dinuka | died 2021[53] | 2001–2010s | The notorious criminal Keselwatte Dinuka has died in Dubai and the dead body was flown to Sri Lanka from Dubai on 18 March 2021. He has been carrying out criminal activities from Dubai according to the police. | [54][55][56][57] |
| Dharmakeerthi Tharaka Perera Wijesekera alias Kosgoda Tharaka | 1987–2021[58] | 2005–2021 | Kosgoda Tharaka was involved in multiple crimes in Matara, Moratuwa, and Kottawa police areas. He was alleged for several murders and thefts. The most notable incident was the assassination of a police officer while robbing a jewelry shop in Matara in 2018. The criminal was shot dead by police during a special operation in Meerigama where he tried to attack police. | [58][59][60][61] |