AG files indictment against 13 in Avant-Garde high seas arms trafficking case

• A record number of 7,573 charges filed by AG before HC Trial-At-Bar
• Avant-Garde Chairman Nissanka Senadhipathi among accused
• Charges filed under Fire Arms Ordinance and Penal Code for illegally carrying arms and ammunition on board ship MV Avant-Garde

The Attorney General’s Department yesterday filed indictment in the Avant-Garde High Seas Arms Trafficking case before a Trial-At-Bar against 13 persons including Avant-Garde Maritime Services Ltd. (AGMS) Chairman Nissanka Senadhipathi.

A total of 7,573 charges were filed by the AG under the Fire Arms Ordinance as well as the Penal Code for illegally operating a merchant vessel ship and carrying 813 unlicensed automatic weapons and 200,935 rounds of live ammunitions on board the Ship MV Avant-Garde in and around October 2015.

The Trial-at-Bar consists of High Court Judges Dhammika Ganepola (President), Adithya Patabandige and Manjula Thilakarathna.

The case is connected to a joint venture which AGMS entered with the Government-Owned Business Undertaking (GOBU) of Rank Rakshasa Lanka Ltd. to provide infrastructure facilities for international maritime security services.

Among those indicted are senior officials of Rakna Arakshaka Lanka as well as a former Senior Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Defence as well as MV Avant-Garde’s Ukrainian Captain Gennadiy Gavrylov.