The Secretary of the National Police Commission (NPC), Saman Dissanayake, who was arrested in connection with the Avant-Garde case, has been ordered remanded until August 02.

The Gangodawila Acting Unofficial Magistrate visited the suspect, who is currently hospitalised, and ordered that he be placed in remand custody. 

Dissanayake, a former Senior Assistant Secretary at the Defence Ministry, was taken into custody by officers of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) at the Sri Jayawardenapura Hospital yesterday (18).

Three other suspects had previously been arrested in connection with the case with former Chairman of Rakna Lanka, Victor Samaraweera, arrested after he surrendered to the CID and another former Chairman of Rakna Lanka Waduge Palitha Piyasiri Fernando and former Rakna Lanka CEO Karunaratne Banda Adikari Egodawele being arrested by the CID while also at the Sri Jayawardenapura Hospital recently.

The remaining four suspects including Avant-Garde Chairman Nissaka Senadhipathi have left the country, according to investigations. 

The Colombo Fort Magistrate this week rejected the anticipatory bail application filed by NPC secretary Saman Dissanayake, requesting to release him on bail if he was arrested over the Avant-Garde floating armoury case.

Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake said that the court has no jurisdiction to grant bail to Dissanayake, who was named as a suspect in the Avant-Garde floating armoury case, as indictments are to be filed against him under the Firearms Ordinance.

On July 05, the Attorney General had instructed the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) to immediately arrest Chairman of Avant-Garde Maritime Services (Pvt) Ltd Nissanka Senadhipathi and 7 others including the secretary of the NPC. 

The Acting IGP was further instructed to file charges against them under the Firearms Ordinance and to produce them before the court.

The Acting IGP has later directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to act on the instructions of the Attorney General.