Court orders gold recovered from LTTE to be analysed by National Gem and Jewellery Authority

The Colombo Magistrate's Court today ordered that the gold items believed to have belonged to the LTTE and discovered in camps, illegal banks and buildings in the Northern and Eastern Provinces during the humanitarian operation, be handed over to the National Gem and Jewellery Authority for analysis and report.

 

This directive was issued by Colombo Chief Magistrate Thanuja Lakmali, following a request by Deputy Solicitor General Suharshi Herath on behalf of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

 

It was revealed in court that more than 10,000 such items are currently in the custody of the Military Intelligence Directorate. Accordingly, the court was urged to order the National Gem and Jewellery Authority to examine the items and submit a detailed report.

 

In addition, the Deputy Solicitor General requested that two officers from the Pawning Division of the Bank of Ceylon be assigned to assist with the weight and value assessments of the items. 

 

Orders were also sought to deposit the valuables with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka following the analysis and to grant permission for the CID’s Crimes Division to take photographs of the deposit locations.

 

Having considered the submissions, the Chief Magistrate issued orders to the National Gem and Jewellery Authority, the Bank of Ceylon’s Pawning Division, the Central Bank, and the CID’s Crimes Division to carry out the respective tasks.

 

Further, the Deputy Solicitor General informed court that investigations are underway to determine whether these gold items had been pawned or deposited by civilians from the Northern and Eastern regions.