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Avant-Garde case: Suspects in country to be arrested soon, those overseas as they return, says CID
View(s):The Criminal Investigation Department (CID), yesterday, deployed a team to take into custody the suspects in the Avant-Garde case following a directive from the Attorney General’s Department.
A senior CID official said that they were expecting to arrest those within the country immediately and those overseas when they arrive in the country.
However, up to last afternoon none of the suspects had been taken into custody.
The AG’s Department, on Friday, issued a directive to the Acting Inspector General of police C.D.Wickremaratne to arrest eight suspects including Chairman of Avant- Garde Martime Services (Pvt) Ltd and Secretary National Police Commission, Saman Dissanayake, who was the former Senior Additional Secretary to the Defence Ministry.
Others to be arrested include Major General (Retd) Palitha Fernando, Major General (Retd) Karunaratna Egodawela, Commodre (Retd) Vishvajith Diyabalanage, Air Vice Marshal (Retd) P.B.Premachandra, Former Senior Additional Secretary Ministry of Defence Damayanthi Jayaratne and Chairman Rakna Lanka Victor Samaraweera.
The AG’s order to arrest them came over allegations of illegally operating Merchant Vessel ships carrying a stock of firearms and explosives including 813 unlicenced automatic firearms and 200,935 rounds of ammunition on the seas off Galle.
In addition, suspects Senadhipathi and Dissanayake have been charged with fabricating false evidence.
Two of the suspects, Senadhipathi and Diyabalanage had obtained court permission to travel overseas.
Earlier, four of the suspects, Fernando, Egogadwela, Senadhipathi, Diayabalnage and Dissanayake had filed Fundamental Rights cases seeking an order to prevent their arrests, but on Thursday the Supreme Court dismissed their petitions.
The AG has also ordered the Acting IGP to report back to him about the progress of implementing the order of arrest by tomorrow.