Hand grenades can be bought on Sri Lanka’s black market for as little as Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 20,000, security sources told the Daily Mirror, as organised criminal groups increasingly turn to explosives to intimidate rivals, the newspaper reported on Saturday.
The report is the first account by any newsroom of what the weapons cost and where they come from.
“They are available through various sources, including areas associated with former military personnel, where hand grenades may remain buried,” the sources said. “If someone seeks to purchase one, it can be obtained for around Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 20,000, even without the knowledge of the original owner.”
Security officials said the devices of particular concern are old military grenades believed to remain in illegal stockpiles, some of which can stay dangerous for years if properly preserved.
Used to frighten, not to kill
A senior police officer told the paper that criminal groups use grenades primarily as a means of intimidation rather than as a direct attempt to kill.
“They throw a bomb to frighten someone and leave. It is mainly used to threaten members of rival groups or people involved in disputes over drugs and other criminal activities,” the officer said.
The officer said the targets are often within the groups themselves: “Most of the time, they use intimidation against members of their own groups — like when others sell drug stock belonging to them, or take up contracts from others. In those situations, to scare them, they throw a bomb and go.”
Why explosives and not firearms
Security sources linked the shift to the scarcity of guns. Firearms have become harder to obtain amid continuing police operations against organised crime, pushing some groups towards locally made weapons and explosives.
“There are no weapons; nowadays, even for shootings, they mostly use improvised firearms or local single-barrel guns. Those are locally made and brought out. Weapons are very rare for them,” the officer said.
That account offers an explanation for a pattern this publication has tracked since early August, in which grenades rather than guns have been used against homes.
The attacks behind the warning
The Daily Mirror’s report follows Friday’s attack at Kawdana, Dehiwala, in which two brothers were killed and their father seriously injured. Police found the family was not the intended target — the grenade was meant for a neighbouring house linked to an underworld dispute and was thrown at the wrong address.
The paper lists three earlier attacks:
| Date | Location | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 5 August | Sri Gnanendra Mawatha, Ratmalana | Two grenades thrown, one exploded; no injuries. Near the home of the mother of alleged trafficker “Russell Smith” |
| 23 August | Lesley Ranagala Mawatha, Borella | Grenade failed to explode; no injuries. Linked to an associate of “Wanathe Chathu”, recently arrested in Dubai |
| 9 September | Kalubowila, Dehiwala | Thrown from a motorcycle; windows damaged, no injuries. Property linked to a close associate of a major drug trafficker; a 56-year-old woman was inside |
The list settles an open question
That timeline resolves a discrepancy left unexplained a day earlier. Hiru News had counted four grenade attacks in 45 days but named only Kalubowila and Ratmalana, leaving one incident unlocated and omitting Borella altogether.
The Daily Mirror’s four incidents match this publication’s own records on all four counts, and confirm that the Borella attack belongs in the tally.
One divergence remains. The Daily Mirror dates the Dehiwala-area attack to 9 September at Kalubowila; police Spokesman ASP F. U. Wootler placed it on Thursday 10 September at Wimalasiri Mawatha, Kohuwala. The two areas adjoin and fall within the same Dehiwala–Mount Lavinia division, so this is most likely one incident described loosely, but no outlet reconciles the date.
Not reported
The Daily Mirror does not say which agency compiled the price estimate, whether any grenade seller has been arrested or prosecuted, or how many military-issue grenades are believed to be unaccounted for. It does not say whether the Army has been asked to audit wartime stocks, nor whether any of the four attacks has produced an arrest. No official from the Ministry of Defence or the Sri Lanka Army is quoted.
