Sri Lankan cricketers nabbed at Heathrow

Two Sri Lankan club cricketers were nabbed at London's Heathrow airport by officers of the anti-terrorist branch when they were about to board a Sri Lankan Airlines flight to Colombo.

The incident which took place on Wednesday saw one of the cricketers, Manoj Hettiarachchi, being remanded and the other, Bathisha de Silva, escaping any punishment. They were playing league cricket for Sudbury CC in Harrow.

According to sources, the officers of the anti-terrorist branch had acted on a tip-off. They had been on the trail of some Sri Lankans in the UK and one of them was Batisha de Silva, whom they suspected of being involved in terrorist activities.

When the cricketers were nabbed at the airport and searched by Special Branch officers, they found 22 cloned credit cards and four cheques to the tune of £20,000 on Hettiarachchi.

Both men were interviewed last Thursday by Detective Sgt Fahey at Heathrow Police station. During the interview, Hettiarachchi had said that De Silva had handed the credit cards to him before arriving at the airport, saying that his wallet was full.

Hettiarachchi had then asked De Silva whether it was alright to carry so many cards, and the reply he got was that he too had similar cards in his pocket and that he was scared because a few days earlier he had been assaulted by some criminals whom he had been associated with. Hettiarachchi had also told the Heathrow detectives that he was carrying the three signed cheques drawn from three separate English banks, for a friend in Sri Lanka. De Silva when questioned had denied any knowledge about the cards which he had handed over to Hettiarachchi.

According to sources, Hettiarachchi was under obligation to carry the cards and cheques because it was De Silva who had secured a position for him at the club, and also found him accommodation in the UK.

At the end of the interview, De Silva was released because no evidence could be found on him, but Hettiarachchi was charged with the offence of handling stolen property and intention of supplying the same. He was produced at Uxbridge Magistrate Court on Friday and remanded for trial, which is expected to take at least another two months.

However, though the Special Branch Officers could not pin anything on De Silva, they believe that he is behind the fraud, and suspect him to be involved in terrorist activities - the cards they say are used for funds.

Alan Wahab, Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) UK committee representative, who is also an employee of Scotland Yard, assisted the Heathrow police at the interview.

De Silva (27) plays for Tamil Union in the Premier division I competition. A right-hand batsman and an off-break bowler, he has been playing first-class cricket since 1995-96 and has previously played for Bloomfield, BRC and Antonian SC. He was also a Sri Lanka `A' cricketer.

Hettiarachchi (25) plays for BRC in the Premier division I tournament. A right-hand bat and wicket-keeper, he made his first-class debut for BRC in 1998-99.