Sri Lanka spice tycoon taken into custody

COLOMBO, Apr 25 (The New York Times): He built his fortune on black pepper, white pepper, nutmeg, cloves and vanilla. His family lived in a beautiful white villa and travelled in a chauffeured BMW. He was feted by Sri Lanka’s former president for “outstanding service provided to the nation.”

But on Wednesday the narrative of Mohammad Yusuf Ibrahim, one of Sri Lanka’s wealthiest spice traders, was ripped apart. Officials revealed he was in custody in connection with the devastating suicide attacks on Easter Sunday that killed more than 359 people.

An Indian official said that two of Ibrahim’s sons, who have been identified in Indian media reports as Inshaf and Ilham, were among the eight suicide bombers who struck at hotels and churches across this island. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, and investigators said Ibrahim was being extensively interrogated.

During a raid Sunday at his family’s villa near Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital, a female suspect blew herself up in front of two of her children, killing them all, along with several police officers who were closing in, investigators said. The Indian official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of a major terrorism investigation, said the woman who killed herself and her children was most likely the wife of one of Ibrahim’s sons.

Sri Lankan officials have been reluctant to identify the suicide bombers, saying that could hamper their investigation.

But at a news conference on Wednesday, Ruwan Wijewardene, Sri Lanka’s state minister of defence, said most of the bombers had been well educated and had come from middle-class or upper-class families.

“Financially they are quite independent and their families are stable financially. So that is a worrying fact,” he said. “Some of them have studied in various other countries. They hold degrees, LLMs. They are quite well-educated people.”

Sri Lankan investigators are being assisted by a team of FBI agents who flew into Colombo amid a sense of urgency. The US ambassador to Sri Lanka, Alaina Teplitz, said there were “ongoing terrorist plots” and Wijewardene said “there could be still a few people out there.” He urged Sri Lankans to remain vigilant.