Yoshitha Rajapaksa Arrives at CID to Provide Statement

COLOMBO (News 1st) - Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son, Yoshitha Rajapaksa, arrived at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) this morning.

He arrived following a summons issued by the department.

Police said Yoshitha Rajapaksa is currently being questioned in connection with an investigation into a vehicle that was brought into the country outside the prescribed procedure.

Police said Customs had launched a special investigation after determining that the vehicle had been imported during 2020/2021.

The owner of the vehicle had been unable to produce the required documents relating to its importation, following which the vehicle was presented to the Government Analyst.

Police said the Government Analyst had determined that the vehicle had been illegally assembled.

The CID had previously arrested several suspects during investigations into the incident.

Police said a statement was sought from Yoshitha Rajapaksa based on a statement provided by one of the suspects who had been arrested.

The Terrorism Investigation Division has also launched an investigation into similar vehicles brought into the country by the main suspect in the case. 

Police have so far taken into custody 18 vehicles, including high-powered motorcycles, cars and jeeps, that were allegedly brought into the country outside the prescribed procedures.

Police said a container containing land vehicles that had been imported into the country was concealed, and the chassis 
numbers of the vehicles inside the container were allegedly used as replacement chassis numbers for the other vehicles.

The concealed container was later opened on a court order.