Soldier, civil worker nabbed with firearms, ammo

By Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya 

A soldier and a civil worker attached to Sri Lanka Army had been arrested with two T-56 assault rifles and several firearms in Kurunegala, police said. 

They said the Kurunegala Police had arrested the suspects with a T-56 weapon and a magazine during the search on a suspicious motorcycle at Gowa Kotuwa in Kurunegala last Saturday. The weapon and magazine loaded with live ammunition were detected hidden inside the rider’s jacket.   

The 46-year-old rider, a soldier attached to the Buttala Army Camp and the 37-year-old civil worker attached to the Wathupitiwala Vijayaba Infantry Regiment were identified as residents of Kurunegala and Hanwella. 

Following the arrest, the police searched houses of the men using a sniffer dog. They recovered another T-56 assault rifle, T-56 weapon cleaning kit, an Italian-made air rifle and several other equipment used by the Army from the rider’s house. 

The suspects who were produced in the Kurunegala Magistrate’s Court yesterday are now on a 48-hour detention order for further interrogation.