Illegal arms factory busted in Wellampitiya
April 13, 2011 12:12 am
An illegal firearms ‘factory’ which had been in operation in the Wellampitiya area has been detected by police. A few illegal firearms, explosives and raw materials that could be used to produce firearms were taken into custody by police during the raid conducted on information received by an intelligence unit of the armed forces.
The activities of this ‘arms factory’ had centered around a residence and a restaurant in Wellampitiya. A 75-year-old retired security forces personnel who had claimed ownership of these two locations had been taken into custody, a senior police official told Adaderana.
A raid conducted today had netted a wooden revolver, a ‘galkatas’ firearm, another gun similar to those issued to the armed forces, a live grenade manufactured in a foreign country, two 12 bore shotguns, an air rifle, five rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition, three rounds of 9mm live ammunition, 12 rounds of 12 bore ammunition, more than 5,000 rounds of air rifle ammunition, two ‘Rambo’ type knives, several implements for turning out firearms, an army type headgear, an army uniform and several other items, said the official.
Further investigations are being carried out by the Grandpass Police.