Police to fly to Dubai to bring Udayanga back: Sagala

Tuesday, 6 February 2018 00:28 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Former diplomat arrested while travelling with invalid passport

A team of police officers will travel to Dubai to escort arrested former diplomat Udayanga Weeratunga back to Sri Lanka, said Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayaka. “Our diplomatic mission and the Foreign Ministry are currently working with Dubai authorities in this regard,” the Minister said, addressing a public meeting in Mawarala, in the Matara district.When arrested, Weeratunga – wanted in connection with the MIG investigation – had been travelling with an invalid diplomatic passport, Ratnayaka claimed.

“His diplomatic passport was cancelled by the government as he was no longer in a position to use one. But we got to know that he was still using the invalid diplomatic passport,”Ratnayaka said. “The Police alerted several countries to arrest Weeratunga. As a result, the former Sri Lankan ambassador was arrested in Dubai on Sunday,” the Minister added.Weeratunga, a nephew of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, was wanted over an alleged financial misappropriation to the tune of $ 14 million while purchasing four Ukraine-built MIG-27 aircraft for the Sri Lanka Air Force in 2005. In October 2016, the Colombo Fort Magistrate, ordered the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) of the Police to issue an international warrant to arrest Weeratunga over the same investigation.