Police freeze 41 bank accounts of Easter Sunday attacks suspects

Saturday, 25 May 2019 00:06 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Rs. 134 m found in the accounts of suspects being held by the CID and TID
Police also working to confiscate these funds and Rs. 140 m found earlier
Five NTJ suspects including development officer arrested in Horowpathana

Police have frozen a total of Rs. 134 million deposited in 41 bank accounts belonging to suspects of the Easter Sunday attacks.

The bank accounts belong to suspects currently held by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) over their alleged links to Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, Police said in a video statement.

Police Media Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara said that the accounts were found as part of ongoing investigations. Earlier this month Police also said that the CID had frozen accounts holding Rs. 140 million and assets of Rs. 7 billion owned by the terrorists responsible for the attacks. The CID is working to take these assets under the Government once investigations are completed.

Meanwhile, five suspects, who are alleged to have maintained connections with the banned National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ) and its founder Zahran Hashim, were arrested in Horowpathana.

Among those arrested were a development officer attached to the Horowpathana Divisional Secretariat, a teacher of a government school in Horowpathana, two teachers of an Arab school in Kiwulekada and a resident of Kebithigollewa.

Police said the suspects had delivered extremist sermons in Anuradhapura and Trincomalee. It was revealed that these suspects had received funds from the NTJ via one of the main suspects in the Easter Sunday attacks.

Investigations are continuing into the Easter Sunday attacks that left over 250 people dead and about 500 people injured.