Sri Lanka Police have released details of two suspects who were arrested at Bandaranaike International Airport after being deported from Dubai.

The suspects, aged 25 and 40, were taken into custody by officers of the Criminal Investigation Department upon arrival and subsequently handed over to separate investigation units for further inquiries.

Police said the 25-year-old suspect, a resident of Colombo 15, was identified through the airport’s facial recognition system. He has also been identified as the brother of alleged organised crime figure and drug trafficker “Dematagoda Nipuna.”

According to investigators, the suspect had previously been arrested for cannabis possession in 2019 and was later taken into custody in connection with an assault case in Modara involving a club and a sharp weapon in 2020.

Police further stated that he was wanted under a warrant issued by the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court in 2022.

The second suspect, a 40-year-old resident of Colombo 14, is reportedly linked to several serious criminal investigations.

Police said he had faced court proceedings over an assault case in Nugegoda in 2010, was arrested with heroin in Kelaniya during the same year, and has been identified as a suspect in a shooting and murder case in Colombo in 2015.

He is also accused of aiding and abetting the 2016 shooting of a prison transport bus in Maligawatte and had previously surrendered through a lawyer while in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

In addition, investigators have identified him as a suspect in a 2018 shooting incident in Grandpass that resulted in one death and left another person seriously injured.

Further investigations are being conducted by the Central Crimes Investigation Bureau and the Colombo North Crimes Investigation Division.