The Tangalle High Court on Friday granted bail to Sampath Manamperi, a former Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna local council candidate and former police officer who had been remanded over the alleged possession of a live hand grenade, Hiru News reported.
High Court Judge Pradeep M. Abeyratne ordered his release on a cash bail of Rs. 10,000 and two personal bails of Rs. 250,000 each.
How the grenade charge arose
Manamperi was initially arrested by the Western Province North Crimes Division over the possession of weapons and of chemicals suspected of being used to manufacture crystal methamphetamine, known locally as ICE.
Police then obtained a detention order from the Walasmulla Magistrate’s Court, and during extended questioning recovered a live hand grenade concealed at a house in the Kariyamaditta area of Middeniya. The grenade investigation was handed to Middeniya Police, and once those inquiries concluded the bail petition was filed in the Tangalle High Court in relation to the Walasmulla case.
The wider case against him
The grenade charge is one strand of a matter that has run for close to a year and has reached well beyond Manamperi himself.
He surrendered to the Walasmulla Magistrate’s Court in September last year and was detained for questioning over the storage of chemicals used to produce ICE at premises in Kariyamaditta. The cache was reported to have belonged to the underworld figure known as Kehelbaddara Padme. Police have also pursued lines of inquiry into alleged cannabis transportation, robbery using firearms and acts of terrorism.
In April the Illegal Assets Investigation Division suspended his use of a motor vehicle valued at Rs. 17.5 million while it examined whether the purchase was funded by the proceeds of crime.
The investigation has also drawn in a former cabinet minister. Johnston Fernando appeared before the Illegal Assets Investigation Division on 2 June to record a statement connected to the Manamperi probe, following an earlier summons over alleged unexplained wealth. Fernando was separately arrested by the Bribery Commission on 4 September in an unrelated matter.
Context
The release comes in a week in which police have been publicly counting a run of grenade attacks on homes. Authorities say four hand grenade attacks have been reported in 45 days, killing two people, and attribute them to conflict between organised criminal groups. There is no reported connection between those attacks and the weapon in this case, which was recovered buried at a property rather than used.
Still not reported
Hiru News does not say which conditions, if any, attach to the bail beyond the monetary terms, whether Manamperi is now released or remains held on other matters, or when the Walasmulla case is next due to be called. The report does not say whether the prosecution opposed bail or indicate how the grenade charge relates to the ICE-precursor and firearms allegations. No other verified newsroom had filed on Friday’s ruling at the time of writing.
