Renewal of firearm licences begin next month

Colombo (News 1st) - The Defence Ministry states that the annual renewal of licenses for possession of firearms will begin on the 01st October 2018. The additional secretary of the ministry N.J. Panditharathne stated that owners of pistols and revolvers should renew their license from the Defence Ministry. Owners of firearms used for agricultural purposes are expected to renew their licenses from the District Secretariat. The Defense Secretariat has 1341 pistols registered and more than 15,000 registered small arms and light weapons. N.J. Panditharanthne also stated that the deadline to renew licenses of firearms end on the 31st December 2018. After the deadline, a task force will be deployed to arrest individuals holding weapons without licenses. A senior officer from the Defence Ministry highlighted that issuing new licenses to obtain firearms have been stopped since June 2018 as the organized crime rates have risen.