Two sentenced to 10 years each in Wanathawilluwa explosives case

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Two men were sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment each by the Colombo High Court today (October 7, 2026), after pleading guilty in the Wanathawilluwa explosives case.

The defendants, Abu Haneefa Mohamed Musif and Amir Hamza Mohamed Hamas, admitted to illegally storing a firearm and explosives at the Lactose Estate in Wanathawilluwa, Puttalam.

The sentences were delivered by a three-judge bench comprising High Court Judges Lal Ranasinghe Bandara, Rashmi Singappuli and Nayomi Wickramasekara.

The case concerns the stockpiling of firearms and explosives linked to Easter Sunday suicide bomber Zahran Hashim and other extremists.

The Attorney General filed the case on 14 charges against six defendants: Abu Haneefa Mohamed Musif, Amir Hamza Mohamed Hamas, Mohamed Sharifu Adam Lebbe, Mohamed Ibrahim Sadiq Abdullah, Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed Naufar and Mohamed Rameesh Mohamed Sajid.

The explosives cache was discovered by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in January 2019. According to reports on the case, the recovered items included nitrates, 12 live rounds of ammunition, a firearm, nitric acid and urea.