A 35-year-old man has been arrested with a firearm and 5 grams and 370 milligrams of crystal methamphetamine, known locally as “Ice”, in the Gangeyaya area of Thanamalwila.
Officers from the Thanamalwila Police Station conducted a raid in the area on Saturday, during which the suspect was arrested with the drugs and the weapon, Ada Derana reported. Police said the firearm carries no identifiable country of manufacture.
The suspect is a resident of the same area. Police said it has not yet been established why he was in possession of the firearm.
He was already out on bail in connection with an earlier murder case and drug-related charges, according to police. He is due to be produced before the Wellawaya Magistrate’s Court, and Thanamalwila Police are continuing investigations.
Context
Narcotics enforcement has run at a high tempo through the year, including the seizure of about 10 tonnes of narcotics in a single Kandy operation in June under the police “A Nation United” drive, and the destruction of 302kg of seized narcotics at a Puttalam incinerator.
Ada Derana did not say when the earlier murder case was filed, what stage it has reached, or what bail conditions applied. The quantity of methamphetamine involved is small — just over five grams — and consistent with possession rather than a trafficking-scale seizure.
No other verified newsroom had reported the arrest at the time of writing.
