- 47 live 9mm rounds, 20 12-bore live rounds, 2 repeater-type firearms, a pistol, vehicle number plate, insurance card, and 3 firearm license renewal receipts found
- Missing T-56 of Dubai-bound cop recovered from another suspect
A 54-year-old suspect has been arrested by the Colombo Crimes Division for the illegal possession of firearms and live ammunition in the Heenatiyana area of the Katunayake Police Division.
The arrest was made on Monday (17) as part of an ongoing island-wide crime and drug prevention operation conducted under the directives of the Acting Inspector General of Police.
During the raid on the suspect’s residence, Police discovered 47 live rounds of nine millimetre (mm) ammunition and 20 live rounds of 12-bore ammunition. Further inspection led to the seizure of two foreign-manufactured repeater-type firearms with two empty magazines, one foreign-manufactured pistol-type firearm with two empty magazines, a vehicle number plate and an insurance card, and three firearm license renewal receipts.
Meanwhile, the Type-56 assault rifle of the Police Constable (PC) attached to the Mount Lavinia Police Station, who went missing and is suspected to have fled overseas, has been recovered along with the ammunition.
The firearm has been discovered while buried along with 30 rounds of ammunition in a garden at Badovita in Mount Lavinia, the Police said.
On 9 February, the PC in question was reported missing, along with his T-56 firearm. The Police Media Spokesman stated that the missing PC had reportedly departed for Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Police also revealed that the PC had been in possession of the T-56 firearm and 30 rounds of ammunition when he left for duty at a checkpoint on 8 February. Accordingly, four investigative teams have launched an investigation regarding the incident.
Based on a tip-off received by officers, a suspect had been arrested on Monday with the T-56 firearm and 30 rounds of ammunition in his possession. The arrested suspect, a 41-year-old resident of Mount Lavinia, was expected to be produced before Court yesterday (18). A detention order was expected to be obtained.