July 12, Colombo (LNW): Investigators have uncovered a substantial stockpile of improvised weapons during continuing inquiries into the deadly unrest at Negombo Prison, where prison officers came under a violent assault by inmates.
Police said extensive searches carried out across the prison complex resulted in the recovery of hundreds of makeshift wooden clubs, a large number of bladed weapons and a significant quantity of concealed iron rods believed to have been used during the disturbance.
Detectives from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) have established that, at the height of the violence, groups of inmates forced their way into the prison kitchen in search of weapons. Investigators say the prisoners armed themselves with sharp kitchen implements before also taking coconuts from the facility, which were allegedly thrown at prison officers during the confrontation.
Authorities work to determine how such a large cache of weapons was assembled and concealed within the prison, while also identifying those responsible for orchestrating the violence.
The riot resulted in one of the deadliest incidents in the country’s prison system in recent years, claiming the lives of eight prison officers and 21 inmates. The CID’s investigation remains ongoing, with officers continuing to gather evidence and record statements as part of efforts to establish the full sequence of events surrounding the fatal clashes.