Underworld Figure ‘Tinker’ Arrested After Dubai Deportation

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka Police have arrested Sri Dharan Neranjan, alias “Tinker,” a suspected organized crime figure, at Katunayake International Airport upon his return to Sri Lanka after being deported from Dubai.

According to police, the 36-year-old suspect, a resident of Colombo 15, was taken into custody late last night and handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) before being transferred to the Peliyagoda Police Station for further questioning.

Investigators have identified Tinker as a close associate of Palani Shiran Glorian, also known as “Kochchikade Shiran,” a notorious underworld leader involved in organized crime and drug trafficking.

Authorities allege that Tinker acted as the driver in a 2024 shooting incident near the Mahawatta public cemetery in Grandpass, where a man was gunned down while seated in a three-wheeler. 

He is also accused of involvement in another shooting on Sri Gnanarathana Mawatha in Peliyagoda, which left one person dead and another critically injured, as well as transporting firearms for the gang.