A special team of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of Police on Maya 9 arrested a Hajjiyar, identified as Mohamed Hanifa Haja Mohamed, who had given a land in Trincomalee for providing firearms training to Muslim youths, reports Colombo Page. The CID stated that the suspect was arrested from Thoppur city of Trincomalee District in Eastern Province. CID revealed that five youths from Mawanella have been given firearms training in 2017 in the land given by the suspect Mohamed Hanifa Haja Mohamed. CID also revealed that the Hajjiyar had also provided the T-56 weapon for the training. The CID says that the land at Thoppur is run as a livestock farm and a person identified as Sadiq, who is a key disciple of the suicide bomber and National Thowheed Jammath (NTJ) leader Saharan, has given weapons training to the youths in the premises.
Meanwhile, officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on May 9 raided a training centre conducted for the women by the terrorist leader Mohamed Saharan Hashim, who led the Easter Sunday suicide bombings in the Karabala area of Kattankudy town in Batticaloa District of Eastern Province, reports Colombo Page. Investigations have revealed that the wives of the suicide bombers who were killed in the series of bombings on churches and hotels on April 21, 2019, had participated in lectures conducted by the NTJ leader and the suicide bomber Saharan at the site.