COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department has sealed an underground detention facility inside the Trincomalee Navy Camp, a site long known as the “Gun Site,” in a major development in one of the country’s most disturbing unresolved disappearance investigations.
The Trincomalee magistrate is expected to visit the site for an official inspection, a step investigators believe could help preserve evidence and clarify how the facility was used during the final years of Sri Lanka’s civil war and its aftermath.
The site has been linked for years to allegations that people abducted by members of a naval intelligence unit were secretly held there, tortured, and, in some cases, never seen again. Investigators now believe nearly 60 people may have been detained at the underground complex — far more than the 11 youths at the center of the best-known case.
That case, often referred to as the “Navy 11” disappearance case, involves young men abducted between 2008 and 2009, many from Colombo and its suburbs. Court records and investigations have alleged that the victims were held for ransom before disappearing. The case has drawn national and international attention because of the alleged involvement of senior naval officers and the long delays in bringing accountability.
The latest move suggests that the investigation is expanding beyond the 11 youths. According to reports, evidence has emerged linking the Gun Site to several other disappearances, including the case of a man named Shantha in Kegalle, now before the Polgahawela Magistrate’s Court; the cases of two Tamil youths in Colombo, being examined before Colombo Magistrate’s Court No. 3; and the disappearances of Ibbagamuwe Pradeep and two young women in Trincomalee, which have also been reported to court.
Authorities say former detainees, as well as people connected to the operation of the site, have given confidential statements before magistrates. Their testimony is expected to be central to determining who was held there, who controlled the facility, and whether senior officers knew of or authorized its use.
Human rights groups and families of the disappeared have long alleged that it functioned as a secret detention center inside one of the country’s most secure naval installations. The allegations have persisted despite repeated denials, delays, and procedural setbacks.
