Colombo: Foreign Minister Ali Sabri on Friday said there was no evidence to support claims that four Sri Lankans arrested in India last month were linked to ISIS and believed to be involved in drug trafficking.
The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad had claimed that they had arrested four Sri Lankans linked to ISIS at the Ahmedabad airport. He said that all four people had boarded an Indigo flight from Colombo to Chennai on May 19.
Earlier on May 31, the Criminal Investigation Department of the Sri Lankan Police had arrested a 46-year-old man, Pushparaj Usman, in Colombo, whom they described as the suspected handler of four people arrested in India.
However, on Friday Minister Sabri denied that any of the Sri Lankan nationals arrested in India had any links to the terrorist organisation.“There is no evidence to support the claim that the four Sri Lankans arrested in India are linked to ISIS. It is believed that the four (Sri Lankans) are not linked to terrorism but to drug trafficking,” Sabri said at a press conference here.
Following Usman's arrest, commenting on the investigation so far, police spokesperson Nihal Thalduwa had said that police had not yet verified whether the four were linked to ISIS or not.
“Whether he promoted the ideology of ISIS in Sri Lanka is yet to be established,” he had said.
Last month, Sri Lankan authorities launched a high-level operation to investigate four Sri Lankans arrested in Gujarat.Authorities say they will not take any chances over possible ISIS activities on the island following the 2019 Easter Sunday attack that killed more than 270 people, including 11 Indians.
Among the persons arrested in Gujarat, Mohammed Nusrat is a businessman involved in importing telecom equipment and electrical components from countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Dubai.
Mohammed Nafran has been identified as the son of the first wife of notorious underworld criminal Nias Naufar alias 'Potta Naufar', who was sentenced to death for the murder of High Court judge Sarath Ambepitiya.
Of the other two Sri Lankans arrested, Mohammed Faris worked as a 'nattami' or cart puller in Pettah and was arrested by the Colombo Crime Division on March 11, 2023 and November 1 of the same year.
On May 21, his close aide Hameed Ameer was arrested by the Terrorist Investigation Division.Mohammad Faris left for Chennai, India on 19 May.
The second suspect is three-wheeler driver Mohammed Rashdeen. Security forces suspect he is linked to trafficking in crystal meth or ICE.
On September 16, 2022, Rashdeen was arrested by the Foreshore Police and later released on bail.
The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad had claimed that they had arrested four Sri Lankans linked to ISIS at the Ahmedabad airport. He said that all four people had boarded an Indigo flight from Colombo to Chennai on May 19.
Earlier on May 31, the Criminal Investigation Department of the Sri Lankan Police had arrested a 46-year-old man, Pushparaj Usman, in Colombo, whom they described as the suspected handler of four people arrested in India.
However, on Friday Minister Sabri denied that any of the Sri Lankan nationals arrested in India had any links to the terrorist organisation.“There is no evidence to support the claim that the four Sri Lankans arrested in India are linked to ISIS. It is believed that the four (Sri Lankans) are not linked to terrorism but to drug trafficking,” Sabri said at a press conference here.
Following Usman's arrest, commenting on the investigation so far, police spokesperson Nihal Thalduwa had said that police had not yet verified whether the four were linked to ISIS or not.
“Whether he promoted the ideology of ISIS in Sri Lanka is yet to be established,” he had said.
Last month, Sri Lankan authorities launched a high-level operation to investigate four Sri Lankans arrested in Gujarat.Authorities say they will not take any chances over possible ISIS activities on the island following the 2019 Easter Sunday attack that killed more than 270 people, including 11 Indians.
Among the persons arrested in Gujarat, Mohammed Nusrat is a businessman involved in importing telecom equipment and electrical components from countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Dubai.
Mohammed Nafran has been identified as the son of the first wife of notorious underworld criminal Nias Naufar alias 'Potta Naufar', who was sentenced to death for the murder of High Court judge Sarath Ambepitiya.
Of the other two Sri Lankans arrested, Mohammed Faris worked as a 'nattami' or cart puller in Pettah and was arrested by the Colombo Crime Division on March 11, 2023 and November 1 of the same year.
On May 21, his close aide Hameed Ameer was arrested by the Terrorist Investigation Division.Mohammad Faris left for Chennai, India on 19 May.
The second suspect is three-wheeler driver Mohammed Rashdeen. Security forces suspect he is linked to trafficking in crystal meth or ICE.
On September 16, 2022, Rashdeen was arrested by the Foreshore Police and later released on bail.
