Information emerging from investigations suggests that the violence at Negombo Prison was not a spontaneous eruption of anger but a coordinated attack allegedly orchestrated by organised criminal elements operating within the prison. Investigators suspect that convicted drug traffickers played a leading role, although it remains unclear whether the bloodshed was intended to achieve a specific objective. Police, assisted by intelligence agencies, have launched a joint investigation to establish who planned the unrest and whether it was directed from outside the prison.

 

Prison authorities had already tightened security after receiving intelligence on July 5 that tensions among rival inmate factions could escalate into violence. Although the initial confrontation ended with two inmates dead and the situation appeared to have stabilised by nightfall, security officials now believe the renewed violence on July 6 was part of a premeditated plot. According to investigators, inmates launched coordinated attacks on prison officers, attempted to seize firearms and appeared prepared to use lethal force. Authorities suspect the violence was orchestrated by figures linked to the narcotics underworld.Investigators are also examining whether the unrest was connected to the Government’s Ratama Ekata (“Country Together”) anti-drug campaign. Security officials believe the operation, which has disrupted the activities of local drug networks and overseas-based traffickers, may have prompted criminal groups to exploit tensions inside the prison.

 

Official figures show that 35 inmates injured in the initial violence on July 5 were admitted to Negombo General Hospital. Two later died from their injuries, while two critically wounded inmates were transferred to the National Hospital in Colombo for emergency treatment. Six others were awaiting surgery, with the remaining injured inmates receiving treatment under close medical supervision. Amid the unrest, another group of inmates climbed onto the prison roof in protest. Two sustained serious injuries after part of the roof collapsed beneath them and were admitted to hospital.According to prison sources, the violence was triggered by information passed to prison authorities about an illicit drug network operating inside Negombo Prison. Among inmates involved in the trade, the act was allegedly viewed as a betrayal.Prison intelligence sources identify an inmate known as Katuwellegoda Suresh as the alleged mastermind behind the attack. They say he is a key associate of the organised crime figure known as Booru Moona, an alleged contract killer from the south.

Investigators allege that Booru Moona carried out contract killings on behalf of several underworld figures, including Rathgama Vidura, Dubai Varuna, Lalith Kannangara and Hinatiyana Mahesh. Police had been searching for him in connection with multiple murders when, in 2023, he was intercepted at Katunayake Airport while allegedly attempting to flee the country using a forged foreign passport. After being handed over to the Katunayake Police, however, he reportedly escaped from custody within hours. Investigators believe Suresh helped facilitate that escape. Booru Moona was later rearrested by Avissawella Police while travelling with a lawyer to surrender before the Avissawella Magistrate’s Court, after which he was remanded.

Prison sources say Suresh’s principal rival is an underworld figure known as Hinatiyana Ranil. Suresh survived a shooting while arriving at the Negombo Magistrate’s Court for a Court appearance, an attack investigators have linked to Ranil. After his arrest, Ranil was remanded to Negombo Prison. Suresh was also later remanded in connection with the alleged escape of Booru Moona from Police custody.

According to prison officials, the two men continued their rivalry behind bars, prompting authorities to transfer Suresh to Mahara Prison in an effort to ease tensions. Although he was later released on bail, he was subsequently rearrested on allegations of possessing cannabis and a firearm. Following his return to prison, officials say he re-established his influence, building a powerful network that allegedly intimidated and exerted pressure on other inmates.

Prison sources say those activities eventually prompted several inmates to secretly inform prison officers, the Chief Jailor and the Superintendent of Prisons about the illicit operations allegedly being run from inside the prison. The disclosures are believed to have deepened divisions among rival factions, with tensions simmering for months before erupting into violence.

The standoff reached its breaking point on July 5. A confrontation between rival inmate factions that morning was temporarily defused by prison officers, but the calm proved short-lived. Soon after the midday meal, violence erupted again, rapidly engulfing large sections of the prison. Armed with iron bars, stones and other improvised weapons, inmates launched coordinated attacks on rival groups.

The scale of the violence quickly overwhelmed the prison’s limited security personnel. Unable to regain control, officers withdrew from the affected areas after securing all firearms in their possession—a move officials believe prevented an even greater tragedy.

Amid the chaos, inmates broke into the prison pharmacy and consumed medication stored there, including drugs prescribed for psychiatric patients. Prison sources said a bottle containing some of the medication was thrown into the women’s section, where several female inmates allegedly consumed its contents before climbing onto the roof in support of Suresh’s faction, shouting slogans and staging a protest. A group of male inmates soon followed, occupying the rooftops and further escalating the unrest.

Despite repeated attempts by prison authorities to restore order, the violence continued unabated. Officials eventually cut water supplies and other essential services to the affected prison wards in an effort to force the rooftop protesters down, while additional police units were deployed from outside the prison. The immediate crisis was brought under control before nightfall.

Authorities believed they had contained the violence, but fighting flared again the following morning in what officials described as an unexpected escalation. The renewed unrest left 26 people dead, including seven prison officers, and forced security personnel to fire warning shots into the air as they struggled to regain control.

Riot Control Unit officers and members of the Police Special Task Force (STF) rescued prison officers trapped inside the prison, preventing what officials said could have been a far greater loss of life. Injured officers were evacuated and admitted to Negombo General Hospital.

Several inmates also attempted to escape during the disorder, but failed after Police, the STF and Riot Control Unit sealed off the prison perimeter. The Sri Lanka Air Force deployed a Bell 412 helicopter and a drone to monitor developments from the air. According to security sources, inmates who had seized firearms from prison officers opened fire at the drone, although authorities have not officially commented on the incident.

Despite the deployment of tear gas by the Police Special Task Force (STF) and the Riot Control Unit, the violence proved difficult to contain. Order was restored only after several hours of operations that continued into the evening. More than 100 injured inmates were admitted to Negombo General Hospital, while a number of wounded prison officers were also hospitalised.

Outside the prison, anxious relatives gathered in large numbers as news of the unrest spread. Some climbed onto nearby walls and buildings, shouting for information about their loved ones and demanding that the inmates be protected. Prison officials and security personnel struggled to calm the crowd while providing updates on the unfolding situation.

Prison Commissioner and Media Spokesperson A.C. Gajanayake said the Commissioner General of Prisons had appointed a committee to investigate the violence. He added that a separate inquiry was underway into allegations that inmate Katuwelle-gama Suresh Pushpakumara, believed to have coordinated the attack from inside the prison, may have been acting under instructions from outside.

According to Gajanayake, the violence flared again on the morning of July 6 when prison officers entered the facility to distribute breakfast. A confrontation between rival inmate groups quickly escalated, and officers attempting to intervene came under attack.

As the officers retreated towards the prison’s main gate, they were pursued by inmates, who also attempted to force their way through the entrance. Prison officers moved to secure the gate and prevent a breach, but were again attacked by a large group of inmates. Officials responded using what Gajanayake described as “minimum force”, supported by additional prison personnel.

Several prison officers were injured in the clashes, some fatally, while a number of inmates were also killed or wounded. Despite the continuing tension, Gajanayake said authorities had succeeded in retaining control of the prison’s main entrance while efforts to restore order inside the facility continued.

Responding to questions from reporters, Prison Commissioner and Media Spokesperson A.C. Gajanayake said foreign nationals and Buddhist monks detained at Negombo Prison had been placed under enhanced security and were not believed to be directly affected by the violence.

Addressing reports that female inmates had climbed onto the prison roof, alleging that around 20 people had been killed and accusing authorities of failing to provide food for young children in the prison, Gajanayake said their protest was unrelated to conditions in the women’s section. According to him, the violence was confined to rival underworld-linked factions housed in the suspects’ section, and the women were demonstrating in support of one of the groups involved in the conflict rather than protesting over their own safety or welfare.

Gajanayake also acknowledged the severe overcrowding in Sri Lanka’s prison system. Negombo Prison, he said, was holding about 2,400 inmates—well above its intended capacity. He said the Prisons Department was seeking to ease congestion by opening new prisons, expanding existing facilities and pursuing plans for additional prison construction.

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A history of prison unrest
(Gayan Kumara Weerasinghe)

The violence at Negombo Prison is the latest in a series of major prison disturbances that have exposed longstanding concerns over overcrowding, organised crime and security inside Sri Lanka’s penal system.

Among the most controversial was the riot at Welikada Prison on November 9, 2012, in which 27 inmates were killed and more than 40 others injured. The incident drew widespread international attention amid allegations that some prisoners were lined up, forced to kneel and shot by security personnel.

The violence erupted during a search operation launched by prison authorities and Police to curb extortion, intimidation and drug trafficking allegedly carried out by inmates using mobile phones.

The unrest escalated after inmates broke into the prison armoury, seized firearms and exchanged gunfire with security forces. Thirteen Police Special Task Force (STF) personnel and four Army soldiers were injured.

Another major disturbance occurred at Mahara Prison on November 29, 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eleven inmates were killed and more than 100 injured after security forces opened fire to quell unrest sparked by inmates demanding PCR tests amid fears of a rapidly spreading outbreak inside the prison.

The Welisara Magistrate’s Court later ruled that the deaths amounted to a criminal act.

Kalutara Prison was also the scene of one of the country’s most notorious prison attacks. On December 12, 1997, Sinhala inmates stormed cells housing Tamil prisoners, killing three inmates and seriously injuring 17 others.

Unrest at Magazine Prison on January 24, 2012, left 31 inmates injured after prisoners set fire to prison records and the kitchen, prompting security forces to use gunfire to restore order. No fatalities were reported.

While Sri Lanka’s prisons have witnessed numerous smaller disturbances over the years, few have matched the scale and severity of the violence seen at Welikada, Mahara and now Negombo, incidents that continue to raise questions about overcrowding, prison security and the influence of organised crime behind bars.