Sri Lanka Police seized a live hand grenade, military-grade ammunition and unlicensed firearms in three separate raids on Tuesday, arresting three suspects.
In the Kongollawa area of the Ataveeragollawa Police Division, officers recovered a live hand grenade, 52 live T-56 rounds and 30 live 9mm rounds from a 48-year-old man, NewsFirst reported. The volume of military-pattern ammunition is unusual for a single private suspect.
In the Wattala-Thelagapatha area, police arrested a man found at a house with a foreign-manufactured 12-bore double-barrel shotgun. The weapon had no valid licence, and the suspect was taken into custody for unlawful possession.
A third operation in Dehigahahena, Weeraketiya, ended in the arrest of a man found in possession of a locally manufactured T-katas-type firearm — a weapon designed to fire T-56 ammunition — together with two T-56 rounds. Police said the rounds and weapon were being kept illegally.
The three raids continue a recent pattern of weapons recoveries that have featured prominently in police communications. Earlier this month, the Special Task Force detonated a live grenade fished from the Eppawala reservoir, and former MP Chandana Kathriarachchi was arrested with T-56 ammunition and a hand grenade in March. The aggregate operation Rata Ekata — the National People’s Power government’s flagship anti-narcotics drive — has logged over 156,000 arrests since October 2025.
No motive or affiliation was disclosed for any of the three suspects.
