Former Minister and Anuradhapura District Organiser of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Duminda Dissanayake, has been arrested by police.

Police said that the arrest was made in connection with the investigation carried out by the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) regarding the ownership of the gold-plated T-56 assault rifle discovered at a prominent apartment complex in Havelock Town on Tuesday (20).

The former minister was reportedly arrested at a residence in Thimbirigasyaya this morning (23).

The gold-plated T-56 assault rifle was discovered on May 20 inside a woman’s travel bag at the apartment complex.

A complaint was made through the ‘119’ police emergency hotline stating that an elderly woman was seen carrying what appeared to be a T-56 assault rifle towards the apartment complex. The security personnel at the complex were informed accordingly.

Officers, including the Officer-in-Charge of the Wellawatte Police Station, visited the location and during their inspection discovered the firearm.

The relevant security officer had revealed that, when questioned about the firearm, the two women claimed it had been in the back of a luxury vehicle and that they had taken it thinking it was a toy gun.

Later, Police had questioned and arrested two women – a 69-year-old Sri Lankan woman and her niece, a woman from Kazakhstan – regarding the incident and later obtained detention orders to question the duo until Friday (23).

Accordingly, police launched an investigation using CCTV footage from areas the suspects had travelled in the vehicle.

It was revealed through CCTV footage that the two women were seen carrying the bag and the T-56 firearm out of their residence at the apartment complex.

Later, Police inspected the house of the other woman located in Pelawatte and escorted her, along with the vehicle in which the firearm was transported, to the Wellawatte Police Station.

During questioning, the two women had told police that someone must have placed the firearm inside the vehicle during a time when the doors were left unlocked.

However, the two women, along with the vehicle, were taken into police custody under the suspicion of possessing and aiding in the concealment of a T-56 assault rifle.

Investigations into the incident were later handed over to the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID).