Court lifts travel ban on Gotabaya Rajapaksa
August 27, 2015 10:32 am
The Galle Magistrate on Thursday (27) lifted the foreign travel ban imposed on former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa over allegations he used a commercial floating armoury.
Police this year seized more than 3,000 weapons in 20 containers from the armoury, run by private security firm Avant Garde Maritime Services (Pvt) Ltd and docked in port of Galle.
The Galle magistrate earlier imposed a travel ban on three people: former secretary of defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa; former navy commander and adviser of Avant Garde, Satilaka Dissanayake; and another director of Avant Garde.
The armoury was a commercial venture that stored weapons for maritime security guards stationed on ships that pass near Sri Lanka, located on one of the world’s busiest sea routes.
The loosely regulated practice of arming merchant ships has flourished in recent years in response to the threat of piracy.
