The Colombo High Court has sentenced two men to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment after they pleaded guilty in a case over explosives and a firearm found at the Lastery Estate in Wanathavilluwa, Puttalam, in 2018.
The two accused are Abu Hanifa Mohamed Musif and Amir Hamza Mohamed Hamas. They were among six suspects named by the Attorney General in the case, which relates to Muslim extremists including Zahran Hashim.
A three-member Trial-at-Bar, made up of Judges Lal Ranasinha Bandara, Rashmi Singappuli and Nayomi Wickramasekara, heard the case. The court ordered that the time both men have already spent in remand custody and in prison over the incident be deducted from their sentences.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) seized a stock of nitrate believed to be an explosive substance, 12 live rounds of ammunition, a firearm, and stocks of nitric acid and urea in 2018. Nitric acid and urea can be used to make explosives.
The remaining suspects named in the case are not covered in the sentencing reported so far.
