Saudi Arabia extradites five Sri Lankans linked to Easter Sunday attacks

Interpol identified one suspect as Mohamed Milhan, a senior leader of National Thowheeth Jama’ath, which was blamed for the hotel and church bombings

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Sri Lankan military officers guard St Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo on April 21. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:46am, 15 Jun 2019Updated: 10:47am, 15 Jun 2019

Five Sri Lankans wanted in connection with the Easter bombings that killed 258 people were arrested in Saudi Arabia and extradited Friday, police and Interpol said.

“One of the alleged ringleaders in the April 21 bomb attacks in Sri Lanka has been arrested following the publication of an Interpol red notice,” the international police organisation, based in the French city of Lyon, said in a statement.

Investigators at the scene of a suicide bombing at St Sebastian Church in Negombo, Sri Lanka on April 22. Photo: AP

A “red notice” is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.

Interpol identified the alleged ringleader as Mohamed Milhan, a senior leader of the National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ) extremist group which was held responsible for the April 21 bombings.

The “29-year-old Sri Lankan national, wanted on charges including terrorism and murder, was today extradited to Sri Lanka, along with four other suspects, following their arrest in the Middle East”, the statement said.