VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLM #0754/01 2260915
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 130915Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8525
INFO RUEHKV/AMEMBASSY KYIV 0006
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 2215

UNCLAS COLOMBO 000754 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR DS/IP/SCA, DS/IP/WMD, DS/CC, M/MED, L AND SA/INS 
NEW DELHI FOR LEGAL ATTACHE 
KYIV FOR RSO (SEE PARA. 6 FOR DETAILS) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC CASC PTER AMED
SUBJECT: POLICE DETAIN SUSPECT IN JUNE WHITE POWDER 
INCIDENT THAT CLOSED AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 
 
REF: A. COLOMBO 631 
     ¶B. COLOMBO 619 
     ¶C. DS IMS CASE RS-2008-00122 
 
This message contains an action request. See para. 7 for 
action requested. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary - The Sri Lanka Police Service (SLPS), 
working at the behest of RSO Colombo, located and detained a 
subject believed to have delivered the envelope containing 
the white powder (ref B and C) that closed AmEmbassy Colombo 
for normal business for a week in June. Subsequent to his 
detention, the subject admitted that he had, in fact, 
delivered the envelope. Subject stated that the powder was 
sacred ash and that he hoped to win American converts to a 
religious sect of which he is a devotee. End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) As reported ref B, an unknown individual delivered 
an envelope to the Chancery on June 25, 2008. Local guard 
force (LGF) members assigned to the compound access control 
(CAC) building received the envelope and made the individual 
sign a delivery logbook. The subject signed his name "B. 
SATHYOHAHTHAN," and listed an address in Colombo. LGF staff 
were suspicious of the envelope and notified mail room 
personnel, who took the envelope to a secondary mail 
screening area. Upon opening the envelope, the mail room 
clerk discovered that it contained a suspicious powdery 
substance. After learning of the incident, the RSO, in 
consultation with DS/IP/WMD, closed down the CAC. The CAC 
remained closed for a week, during which a local laboratory 
tested the powder for pathogens, including anthrax. Post 
re-opened the CAC and resumed normal operations on July 1, 
after the laboratory determined that the powder was benign 
(ref A). 
 
¶3. (SBU) RSO Colombo provided investigative leads (entries 
from the delivery logbook and images from the digital video 
recorders in the CAC) to the SLPS. On August 12, 2008, RSO's 
Foreign Service National Investigator (FSNI) accompanied the 
SLPS to the address that the suspect had listed in the 
logbook. That address was 18/3/1, Ramakrishna Road, Colombo 
¶6. The FSNI showed photographs of the suspect to individuals 
living in the residence, who confirmed that the subject who 
appeared in the photos did, in fact, live at the residence. 
However, he was not at home at the time. FSNI and SLPS 
investigators remained in the area, staking out the address 
until the suspect returned home at approximately 15:00 hr. 
Police investigators detained the subject and identified him 
as Bavananthan ((SATHYOJAHTHAN)), DPOB: 12/09/1983; Jaffna, 
Sri Lanka. SLPS transported SATHYOJAHTHAN to the Colpetty 
police station (the station near the Embassy, with 
jurisdiction for investigating the incident). Investigators 
allowed the FSNI to assist in the interview. SATHYOJAHTHAN, 
an ethic Tamil, did not speak Sinhalese nor could the police 
speak Tamil. However he did speak English, so the FSNI was 
able to translate for both the suspect as well as the police. 
 
¶4. (SBU) SATHYOJAHTHAN admitted that he was the person who 
had delivered the powder-laden envelope to the Embassy. 
SATHYOJAHTHAN even described the method by which he packaged 
the powder - one envelope contained within another envelope, 
to prevent powder from leaking before the letter reached the 
desk of the U.S. Ambassador (to whom he had addressed his 
letter). SATHYOJAHTHAN averred that the powder was "Vibhuti" 
(sacred ash derived from burned cow dung). (RSO note - this 
fact may explain why initial tests of the suspect powder were 
not immediately negative for anthrax, though subsequent tests 
did rule out anthrax.) SATHYOJAHTHAN denied that there was a 
criminal motive behind his delivery of the substance. Rather, 
he claimed that the powder was intended as a blessing upon 
Americans. SATHYOJAHTHAN claimed that he was a devotee of 
"Sathya Sai Sri Baba," and that his letter had contained 
emblems and drawings denoting his faith. He said he had hoped 
that the letter, along with the sacred powder, would help 
some Americans convert to Sai Baba devotees. SATHYOJAHTHAN 
explained further that he chose the American Embassy because 
he knew that few Americans were are devotees of his faith. He 
later admitted to the FSNI that he was also perturbed because 
some "high American officials" had made public statements 
that denigrated Sri Sai Baba, and he had hoped that the 
powder would work as a charm to win over converts among these 
officials. SATHYOJAHTHAN denied that he had received 
instructions from anyone else to deliver the powder-laden 
letter and averred that he was solely responsible for his 
actions. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Police arrested and detained SATHYOJAHTHAN after 
recording his statement. He will appear before a magistrate 
on August 13, after which he may be released on bail. The 
SLPS chief inspector advised that he would seek an opinion 
from the Sri Lanka Attorney General's office regarding how to 
charge the suspect. The chief inspector opined that 
SATHYOJAHTHAN was subject to charge as a "public nuisance" 
under Sri Lanka's Vagrant Act. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Biographical data on the suspect: 
 
Name: Bavananthan SATHYOPATHAN (English translation of 
Sinhala spelling of surname) or SATHYOJAHTHAN (English 
translation of Tamil spelling of surname) 
DPOB: December 9, 1983; Jaffna, Sri Lanka 
Current address: 18/3/1, Ramakrishna Road, Colombo 6, Sri 
Lanka 
Previous address: B1 3/3, Soyza Flats, Soyzapura, Moratuwa, 
Sri Lanka 
National Identity Card number: 83 344 5057 V 
Marital status: Single 
 
Subject claims to be a fourth year undergraduate student of 
the Medical Faculty of Sumy National University, 
Luganska,Ukraine. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Action requested: As noted above, RSO Colombo 
provided investigative leads from various Embassy documents 
and security devices to the SLPS. In anticipation of a 
possible prosecution, RSO Colombo requests that DS/IP 
coordinate with the Office of Legal Adviser to obtain 
authorization to release official U.S. Embassy records 
pertaining to the case to local prosecutors. Such records may 
include certified copies of the delivery logbook entries 
recorded on June 25, 2008, as well as freeze-frame 
photographs and digital recordings from digital video 
recorders installed in the CAC. RSO Colombo also requests 
authorization for FSNI Gamini Ekanayake to testify in future 
court proceedings related to the case, when subpoenaed. 
 
¶8. (U) RSO Colombo will continue to monitor the investigation 
and report updates septel. Point of contact for this message 
is RSO Michael V. Perkins, who may be contacted at 
94.11.249.8756, 94.11.249.8888 (MSG Post 1 after regular 
business hours), and via the Department of State unclassified 
and classified email systems (perkinsmv@state.gov and 
perkinsmv@state.sgov.gov, respectively). 
BLAKE