Sri Lankan police discovered bodies of four men on Sunday with gun-shot wounds near a canal in the south of the country.

Police spokesman Priyashantha Jayakody said that the four men found dead in Galle had their hands tied and faces covered.

Based on initial investigation, the police said that they believed the murder was due to a private dispute.

A dispute between two gangs had resulted in the murder two weeks ago and the discovery of the four bodies may have been connected to that incident, Jayakody said.

He said that a special police team had been deployed to investigate the incident and arrest the suspects involved in the murder.