Probe on 'armoury' triggers discovery of more firearms, arrests
Investigators probing the case of one of the biggest illegal ‘armouries’ ever found in the country are still trying to solve the mystery of where the firearms came from.
An initial raid by the police Special Task Force (STF) in Pitipana, Homagama, resulted in the discovery of 11 T56 weapons and one T81 weapon hidden in a storeroom on the ground floor of a five-storey building on June 29. The weapons were recovered based on information provided by an alleged criminal gang member arrested by the STF in Karuwalapitiya, Meegoda. The businessman who owned the building where the armoury was found has also been taken into custody.
STF Commandant, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Waruna Jayasundara told the Sunday Times that the raid was conducted on a tip-off received by them and that the suspects have been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is now handling the investigation.
It was soon revealed that more weapons and other items had been kept at the armoury and that some had later been removed and kept in other locations. On Wednesday (1), based on information provided by the State Intelligence Service (SIS), the Homagama Police arrested the alleged mistress of the owner of the building where the armoury was found. A search of her house located at Pitipana North, a short distance from the five storey building, resulted in the recovery of a repeater shotgun along with four rounds of live ammunition used for the gun, four other rounds of unidentified ammunition, seven hand grenades and two sets of body armour.
The same night, based on information provided by the suspects in custody, the CID arrested a 38-year-old suspect from Athurugiriya with a T56 firearm. The weapon is suspected to be one of those that had initially been kept at the Homagama armoury.
The following day (2), a raid conducted at Kendalanda, Homagama saw the recovery of further firearms, explosives and other items. Among the items recovered from this location were a pistol, a Galkatas firearm, four hand grenades, two detonators, 10 rounds of repeater ammunition, a pair of handcuffs and an air rifle with 600 bullets.
CID investigators suspect that some of the firearms in the armoury belonged to the criminal gang led by ‘Kosgoda Tharaka,’ who is currently in prison. It is believed several of the firearms had been used in the armed robbery of a jewellery shop in Matara in 2018. A shootout between police and the robbers during the failed heist resulted in the death of a police officer. ‘Kosgoda Tharaka’ was among those arrested over the incident. The Government Analyst’s Department will conduct an analysis of the recovered firearms to find whether they had been used in the Matara armed robbery or any other crimes.
A CID source however, stated that it may well be that all the firearms, ammunition and explosives that were recovered did not belong to one criminal gang. It may well be that the weapons in the armoury had been ‘hired out’ to various gangs, the source, adding that the fact that so many weapons, explosives and even body armour were found from different places in one area had raised concerns among law enforcement authorities.
Meanwhile, addressing the media on Friday, the STF Commandant revealed that intensive operations conducted against organized criminal gangs had resulted in the arrests of about 20 gang members over the past three weeks.
CID investigators suspect that some of the firearms in the armory belonged to the criminal gang led by ‘Kosgoda Tharaka,’ who is currently in prison. It is believed several of the firearms had been used in the armed robbery of a jewellery shop in Matara in 2018.