Two women arrested in connection with the discovery of a gold-plated T56 assault rifle have been remanded until 23 May on the orders of the Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court.

The suspects were produced before Magistrate A.D. Chathurika Silva earlier today, who permitted the Wellawatte Police to detain and question them further.

The weapon was discovered around noon on 20 May inside a woman’s travel bag at the Havelock City apartment complex in Wellawatte.

Police were alerted following a tip-off to the emergency hotline 119, reporting that an elderly woman was carrying a firearm toward the residential premises. Security officers at the complex informed the police immediately.

A team led by the Officer-in-Charge of the Wellawatte Police visited the scene and, upon inspection, found the gold-plated T56 rifle in question.

Security personnel told investigators that, when questioned, the two women claimed they had found the firearm in the back seat of a luxury vehicle and assumed it was a toy gun.

The suspects were identified as a 69-year-old Sri Lankan woman and her Kazakh national niece. Both were taken in for further questioning at the Wellawatte Police Station on Tuesday evening.

Police investigations have since expanded to examine CCTV footage from the area. Footage reportedly shows the women leaving their residence at Havelock City with the bag containing the rifle.

Later, police also searched the niece’s home in Pelawatte. Around 8:30 p.m. yesterday, both suspects, along with the vehicle allegedly used to transport the firearm, were brought to the Wellawatte Police Station.

During questioning, the women claimed the gun may have been placed inside the vehicle by someone else during a moment when the doors were left unlocked.

Despite the explanation, both suspects were formally arrested last night under charges of illegal possession of a T56 firearm and aiding and abetting its concealment.