An investigation on a cache of arms, ammunition and some sensitive material including the passport of a very senior police officer inside a travelling bag found a few meters away from the official residence of the Commander of the Air Force in the very high security zone at Thimbirigasyaya, is underway.

The detection was made by Air Force Commandos when they examined a green coloured travelling bag found concealed in a dustbin opposite the Commanders residence opposite the Sirimavo Bandaranaike School in Brownrig Road, Thimbirigasyaya on Saturday.

It contained a hand gun ‘Galkattas’, ten rounds of live .38 ammunition, 90 rounds of T 56 automatic ammunition, a Chief Inspector’s epaulets, an ASPs cap with insignia and the expired passport of a Superintendent of Police who was attached to the Terrorist Investigation Division(TID) along with other sensitive material.

Police Media spokesman SSP Ranjith Gunasekera said that initial investigations had revealed that the green coloured travelling bag had belonged to Superintendent of Police Beddewela who resided at the Summit flats at Keppetipola Mawatha.

Beddewela had told investigators that an aide who cleaned his flat had kept this bag inside a disused toilet over the past several years before the officer threw the bag without examining the contents into the dustbin last week.

SSP Ranjith Gunasekera said that apart from the Air Force which had launched its own investigation, the Colombo Crime Division was investigating the the find.