The police along with other State security agencies and the Army have begun a search operation to recover thousands of firearms and have also offered handsome cash rewards for information, a senior policeman said yesterday. He said the police have carried out raids throughout the country but could not produce the firearms seized during their raids.
Earlier, an amnesty for gun holders to hand over the weapons was extended till March 15, but according to defence sources less that 200 weapons had been handed over to the authorities.
Defence sources said that some 33,000 illegal firearms are out in the open and in some instances the original owners may have passed away or migrated.
The bulk of the firearms are 12 and 16 bore shot guns that were issued to farmers to defend their crops from wild animals such as wild boar and their homes during the height of the LTTE terrorist war.
“There will be no charges against those who voluntarily hand over their weapons but the others will face criminal charges,” Thalduwa said.