A group of persons staged a protest before the residence of President’s Counsel (PC) Saliya Pieris’s  residence this morning (24 March), against his decision to represent underworld kingpin ‘Harak Kata’.

The protesters claimed that notorious crime lord Nadun Chinthaka, alias ‘Harak Kata’, had murdered their relatives, and they, the families of the victims, are yet to receive justice from both the police and the courts.

Thus, they protested that in such a background, it is unjustifiable for the PC, who also serves as the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), to represent him in court.

‘Harak Kata’ was brought back to the island with his infamous accomplice Salindu Malshika, alias ‘Kudu Salindu’ after defence officials in Madagascar officially informed the Foreign Ministry of Sri Lanka, on 08 March, of the arrest of eight suspects including “Kudu Salindu”, “Harak Kata”, a Malagasy woman who claims to be his wife and her father.

They had been arrested in Madagascar on 01 March, in a joint operation conducted by the National Central Bureau (NCB) of the INTERPOL, Madagascar’s law enforcement authorities and Customs officials. The INTERPOL had previously issued Red Notices against “Harak Kata” and “Kudu Salindu”.

During his stay in Madagascar, “Harak Kata” had posed as a wealthy businessman while “Kudu Salindu” and the others pretended to be his bodyguards.

The extradition process was coordinated by the Sri Lankan High Commission in Victoria, Seychelles, as Sri Lanka does not have an embassy or a high commission in Madagascar.

“Harak Kata” who operates his drug syndicate in Dubai, Malaysia, Singapore, Seychelles, the Maldives and Madagascar was previously arrested at the Dubai International Airport in August 2022. 

However, he had changed his name to Herath Dissanayakage Roshan Isanka in the passport which was found on him at the time of his arrest in Dubai. The Dubai Police had released “Harak Kata” on 03 October 2022, as they were unable to complete the legal matters pertaining to his deportation.

“Harak Kata” had been wanted by Sri Lanka Police for his involvement in five murders, six robberies and transnational drug trafficking. He has reportedly smuggled in nearly 670kg of heroin to Sri Lanka via sea routes.