Army weapons said used in robberies

[TamilNet, Thursday, 10 June 1999, 03:14 GMT]
The Sri Lankan police produced a Muslim youth in the Batticaloa District Court yesterday, charged with the illegal possession of arms. The police told the court that the youth was working as soldier at the Welikande SLA base. He had been found loitering suspiciously in Eravur, they said.

The police said the soldier, Kaseem Lepai, had come to Eravur on a eight day leave, and had brought a grenade with him.

The Batticaloa District Court judge, Mr.Thadchanamoorthy, remanded the soldier till June 21.

Sources said there have been similar incidents in the past. Small arms and grenades smuggled by the soldiers are believed to have been used in several armed robberies.

Police sources said investigations have revealed that serving Sri Lankan troops were involved in a murder and several robberies in the Eravur area recently.

There have also been numerous reports in the south of the island of crimes being committed by SLA deserters who had absconded with their military-issued weapons.