Man who sold ammunition from DIG’s office as scrap metal arrested

The Anuradhapura Police have arrested a labourer working in the Anuradhapura DIG’s office  who stole a stock of empty magazines and ammunition used for T-56 weapons which had been thrown out as scrap iron and sold them to a scrap metal shop.

The place which buys scrap iron is located at Jayanthi Mawatha, Anuradhapura. Day before yesterday (30) a person who had arrived there in a police jeep had sold three cases of ammunition used for T-56 weapons and 58 different types of firearm ammunition for brass. The merchant who buys old iron goods had paid Rs.320 for the load that was brought.

The owner of the scrap metal shop had felt suspicious and taken the ammunition and the bag containing three empty magazines to the Anuradhapura headquarters police station and informed

them.

It was revealed that the person who brought the ammunition had come in a jeep belonging to the DIG office of Anuradhapura. It had also been revealed that the jeep had been driven by a police Sergeant. Investigations have revealed that when the Sergeant was going in the jeep to bring drinking water to the DIG’s office, the labourer had got into the vehicle with a parcel in hand.

The driver of the jeep had said during questioning that the labourer had gone to the place where scrap metal was being collected. When the worker was arrested and interrogated, he said that he had stolen this stuff from the chamber where the scrap iron was stacked near the DIG’s office. He had also said during interrogation that he received Rs.320 from the sale of the ammunition and three ammunition bags.

A senior police officer said that an investigation is underway to find out whether this worker had stolen and sold such scrap items before this.