In this episode, retired agent Raj Patel reviews the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings case where 8 suicide subjects inspired by ISIS detonated themselves in three large Western hotels and three churches, killing 270 people, including five Americans. The ISIS-inspired bombings occurred in Colombo and Batticaloa, Sri Lanka.
Raj was on the Los Angeles Division’s Extraterritorial Squad at the time of the bombing and was designated the lead case agent. He was deployed for approximately 75 days (split between two deployments) to Sri Lanka, where he gathered the evidence to successfully indict three Non-United States Persons (NONUSPER) for providing material support to terrorism.
For their work on this case, Raj and the other members of the team received the 2021 Director Award for Most Outstanding International Investigation.
Special Agent (Retired)
Raj Patel
5/2004 – 11/2024
Raj Patel served in the FBI for twenty years. He was assigned to the Los Angeles Field Office (LAFO) where he initially worked on a cyber intrusion squad. However, he primarily assisted the Crimes Against Children (CAC) squad and was eventually permanently assigned to the Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) Team, where he served for approximately 12 years.
While on the SAFE Team, he became a subject matter expert in child exploitation investigations, focusing on Child Sex Tourism cases. This work led to several operational deployments and temporary duty assignments (TDYs) to Cambodia and Thailand.
Investigating OCONUS cases allowed him to develop and refine his skills working in overseas environments.
Later, Raj transferred to the Extra-Territorial Squad CT-11, where he worked counterterrorism matters involving ISIS and AQIS in Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent.
During this assignment, Raj completed multiple deployments, including embedding with Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) elements in the southern Philippines and conducting interrogations in the Philippines, Bangladesh and the Maldives, and investigated the Sri Lanka Easter bombings case.
His next assignment was to the LA Field Office’s criminal division, where he worked Violent Crimes Major Offenders (VCMO) investigations, specializing in kidnappings, extortion, and threats to life. He was promoted to supervisor of the FBI Violent Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking Task until his retirement.
Throughout his FBI career, Raj also served in multiple collateral roles, including firearms instructor, defensive tactics instructor, tactical instructor, Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) instructor, High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG) augmentee interrogator, and adjunct faculty member for Interview and Interrogation techniques.
Currently, Raj serves as a Police Special Investigator with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Office of the Inspector General.
The following are news articles and video related to the investigation of the Sri Lanka Easter bombings:
VOX – 4/22/2019: Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday bombings, in 22 pictures
CNN – 4/2019: Terror in Sri Lanka
CNN – 4/25/2019: Bombs tear through Sri Lankan churches and hotels, killing 250 people
Washington Post – 4/26/2019: Sri Lanka Bombings
To learn more about extraterritorial jurisdiction, listen to these FBI Case File Review episodes:
016: John Cosenza – Extraterritorial Jurisdiction & Global Threats
110: Oliver “Buck” Revell – Operation Goldenrod, G-Man’s Journal
156: Lauren Anderson – Casablanca Bombings, Paris LEGAT
223: Jacques Battiste – Nairobi US Embassy Bombing, WFO JTTF
Sri Lanka Easter bombings 2019 Case-Related Images:
