Close on the heels of the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) busting a gang of extortionists targeting politicians, public servants and businessmen, the police have apprehended three state employees who masquerading as middlemen of Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa, MP and Transport Minister Dallas Alahapperuma demanded bribes to facilitate a mega transaction.

Police spokesman SSP Ranjith Gunasekrera told The Island that an employee of the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and two Labour Ministry personnel had been taken into custody in this regard. They were among five persons in custody, he said, adding that one of the suspects had identified himself as an Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Defence.

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told The Island that the police had been directed to go all out against the racketeers ruining the image of the government. He said that many unscrupulous persons, including some security forces personnel had been arrested for extorting money claiming to be agents of top government leaders.

The police said that the gang had offered a large stock of steel belonging to the Sri Lanka Railways at a selling price of Rs. 37 per kilo on the basis an additional Rs. 10 per kilo would be set aside for the Rajapaksas and Allahapperuma. According to police, the gang had also claimed that they could facilitate a lucrative deal on abandoned ships to be disposed as scrap iron.

The police said that the CCD had acted swiftly after receiving a tip off from the Transport Ministry.

The buyers had subsequently contacted the Transport Ministry, which denied any knowledge of the transaction and reported the matter to the police.

Investigations are being conducted by Inspector A. H. K. Priyankara on the instructions of SSP Vas Gunawardena, the senior officer in charge of the CCD.