The Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court has ordered that notice be issued to former minister Duminda Dissanayake to appear at a future hearing after the Attorney General told the court there is now sufficient evidence to name him as a suspect in the gold-plated T-56 assault rifle case.
The order, issued on Friday, follows guidance from the Attorney General that fresh material gathered by investigators warrants Dissanayake’s re-listing as a suspect in the long-running probe.
Dissanayake was first arrested in May 2025 in connection with a gold-plated T-56 assault rifle recovered from an apartment at the Havelock City complex in Wellawatte. Two women aged 40 and 68 were initially detained over the weapon before the investigation was transferred to the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID).
Following the TID’s inquiries the former minister was produced before court but was subsequently released after prosecutors told the bench there was insufficient evidence to proceed against him at that stage. The Attorney General has now reversed that position, informing the Mount Lavinia bench that sufficient evidence exists to pursue the case.
The case is distinct from the Colombo Crimes Division recovery of two revolvers tied to detained suspect “Wanathe Duminda” in the Sahaspura killing, which involves an underworld figure with a similar first name but no connection to the former minister.
The court will set a date for Dissanayake’s appearance as proceedings resume.
Source: Newswire.
