UAE assists Sri Lanka in nabbing two underworld criminals in Dubai

With the assistance of the authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), two Sri Lankan underworld criminals were successfully apprehended in Dubai and escorted back to Sri Lanka on 12 July.

The arrested criminals are 26-year-old Dimuthu Chathuranga and 48-year-old Dinesh Sharman, wanted in connection with several murders committed in Sri Lanka. 

Chathuranga was listed by the Colombo Crimes Division for committing two murders in 2022 and 2016, while Sharman was charged with aiding and abetting a shooting and killing in July 2019.

With the assistance of UAE authorities, the arrests were carried out in Dubai by the Sri Lanka Criminal Investigation Division, after which they were brought into the country. A four-member team from the CID escorted the wanted criminals back to Sri Lanka.

The arrests are the result of the close coordination between the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka in countering organised crime.Earlier this month, 11 Sri Lankan nationals were deported from the UAE after facing cybercrime charges.  In 2014, an extradition agreement was signed between the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the State of the United Arab Emirates.