A member of the Ambalangoda Pradeshiya Sabha representing the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has been arrested over the alleged illegal possession of a firearm, police said.
The councillor, named by NewsFirst as Amitha Chathuranga, was taken into custody by the Galle District Crime Division after an unlicensed repeater-type firearm was recovered from his possession on Friday (July 11) afternoon. He was produced before the Balapitiya Magistrate’s Court on Saturday (July 12) and remanded until July 13.
Investigators are working to establish how the local councillor acquired the weapon and whether it had been used in any criminal activity, according to police. The inquiry is being conducted under the direction of the Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police for the Southern Province, Kithsiri Jayalath, and the Director of the Galle District Crime Division, Assistant Superintendent of Police Namal Perera.
