Defense Ministry Secretary Sampath Thuiyakontha firmly denied allegations that weapons linked to the LTTE were smuggled into Sri Lanka through container 323, which was released without customs inspection.
Responding to claims made in Parliament by MP Ramanathan Archuna, the Defense Secretary described the statement as “baseless and false.”
MP Archuna had stirred controversy by alleging that the containers contained leftover firearms from the LTTE, including weapons once held by the group’s late leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran.
“I’m talking about the containers. I could get shot while talking about this because I haven’t been given security,” Archuna said in Parliament. “I went to Germany before the presidential election and met with the diaspora. KP brought Prabhakaran’s belongings that were in Thailand through Kumaran Pathmanathan. People are talking. They say that the last remaining weapons and firearms were brought in those containers. I can’t prove this. I’m saying this responsibly. There were 300 containers containing Prabhakaran’s firearms. They brought those that had been scattered all over the place.”
Thuiyakontha, however, dismissed the remarks and reassured the public that there was no credible evidence to support such claims.
