Colombo, 7 October 2026: The Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar has sentenced two men to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment each after they pleaded guilty to charges arising from the possession of firearms, ammunition and explosive-related materials at Wanathavilluwa in Puttalam, a case linked to Zahran Hashim and associates.
The sentences were imposed on Abu Hanifa Mohamed Musif and Amir Hamza Mohamed Hamas after they pleaded guilty to the charges against them.
The case was heard before a three-member High Court Trial-at-Bar comprising Judges Lal Ranasinghe Bandara, Rashmi Singappuli and Nayomi Wickramasekara.
The court also directed that the periods the two men had already spent in remand custody and prison in connection with the case be deducted from their sentences.
The Attorney General had instituted proceedings against six defendants over the alleged illegal stockpiling of firearms, ammunition and explosive-related substances at an estate in Wanathavilluwa, Puttalam. Earlier reports said the prosecution involved 14 charges.
According to the latest court report, investigators from the Criminal Investigation Department had seized nitrate considered to be an explosive substance, 12 live rounds of ammunition, a firearm, nitric acid and urea, the latter substances being materials that could be used in manufacturing explosives.
Major cache uncovered in January 2019
Earlier reporting provides further details about the origins of the case.
On 16 January 2019, CID investigators seized 100 kilograms of explosive material and 100 detonators that had been buried near a house at Lactowatta in Wanathavilluwa, according to a 2021 report on the subsequent indictments.
The Attorney General later filed indictments in connection with the investigation, including charges relating to the collection of explosives and the maintenance of an explosives manufacturing facility.
That report also said indictments were filed against Zahran Hashim and Mohammathu Hasthun, both subsequently identified as suicide bombers involved in Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday attacks.
The Wanathavilluwa property has continued to be publicly associated with the Easter Sunday investigation. In 2024, the Sunday Times reported that a government narcotics-destruction facility had been established on land that had been used by Zahran Hashim to hide explosives and conduct training.
Proceedings against six defendants
More recent court reports identify six defendants in the Wanathavilluwa case and state that the Attorney General brought 14 indictments relating to the alleged illegal possession of explosives and other materials.
On 2 October 2026, the two defendants who have now been sentenced informed the court that they were prepared to accept the charges against them and plead guilty. The Trial-at-Bar subsequently proceeded with the case, culminating in Wednesday’s sentences.
Four other defendants in the Wanathavilluwa proceedings had already received prison sentences following their conviction in the main Easter Sunday attacks trial, according to court reporting published ahead of the Wanathavilluwa hearing.
The Wanathavilluwa investigation became one of the significant strands in investigations involving Zahran Hashim and his associates, with investigators uncovering explosives, detonators and materials associated with the manufacture of explosives before the Easter Sunday attacks.