A man was arrested with a foreign-made firearm and a magazine during a search of a house near the Gadolagalla Temple in Weligama, NewsFirst reported.
The suspect is a 33-year-old resident of Thelijjawila, in the Matara district.
The raid was carried out on intelligence received by the Southern Province Special Operations Unit of the Police Special Task Force.
Along with the weapon, officers seized 2 grams and 530 milligrams of heroin, a stock of drug pills and Rs. 62,400 in cash.
Context
The combination is the pattern police have been describing all year: a firearm held alongside a retail-scale narcotics stock and a few tens of thousands of rupees in cash, rather than a weapon seized on its own.
The STF has taken an increasingly prominent role in these operations, to the point that the Public Security Ministry has argued it should step in where regular police units fall short on drug raids. Its recent Southern Province work includes a 227kg Kerala cannabis seizure at Kalutara and Aluthgama.
Weapons circulating outside the licensing system have been a running concern. Police ordered a six-month inspection of all licensed firearm holders in June, and investigators have separately traced a black market in grenades linked to organised crime.
Not reported
NewsFirst does not identify the make or calibre of the firearm, say how many rounds the magazine held or whether any ammunition was recovered, or indicate where the weapon is believed to have come from.
It does not name the suspect, say whether he is known to police, identify the drug pills, or give a date for his production in court. It does not say whether the raid is connected to any wider network, and no other verified newsroom had carried the story at the time of writing.
