Easter terror suspects Sadik and Shaheed arrested in 24 hour operation

COLOMBO (News 1st) - Two suspects wanted by the Criminal Investigations Department in connection to the East Sunday bombings were taken into custody this morning in the Nawalapitiya area. According to the Police media spokesperson, the suspects Mohammad Sadik Abdul-Haq and Mohammad Shaheed Abdul-Haq who were among the wanted list released by the CID have been arrested. The names and photographs of five suspects were published by the Police on the 25th of this month, seeking assistance from the general public for their arrest. Mohammad Sadik Abdul-Haq and Mohammad Shaheed Abdul-Haq were arrested during an extensive joint operation launched by the Police, Special Task Force and the Sri Lanka Army this morning. The investigation was conducted based on a tip-off received by SP Chulani Weeraratne citing that the suspects were travelling from Anuradhapura to Nawalapitiya. A team of security personnel led by the OIC of the Nawalpitiya Police Sujeewa de Soysa arrested the 23-year-old driver who accompanied the suspects to Gampola. The driver revealed that the suspects got down at their uncle's residence in Gampola. The van the suspects used to travel was seized at a house in Nawalapitiya. Based on this information, the security forces converged on the mentioned, uncle's residence and arrested the uncle of the suspects who revealed that the suspects are hiding in a shoe store owned by him. Subsequently, security personnel raided the shoe store and arrested the suspects aged 30 and 27.  Mohammad Sadik Abdul-Haq and Mohammad Shaheed Abdul-Haq are siblings. Further investigations exposed that that 27-year-old Mohammad Sadik Abdul-Haq was trained in Syria. It was also revealed that a training centre of the terror group was established at the residence of the suspects' uncle. The Police and the Army searched a house owned by the two suspects in Delgahagoda, Mawanella this afternoon. At the location, the suspects' mother, two sisters and two brothers were taken into police custody for interrogations and Rs 495,000 was also seized.

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