Lanka court bars Mahinda Rajapaksa's brother Gotabhaya Rajapaksa from leaving the country

COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan court today banned Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, former defence secretary and brother of ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa, from leaving the country as he is facing a probe in a floating armoury case.

A court in the southern port city of Galle issued an order preventing Gotabhaya - the powerful defence secretary under his brother's administration - and three others from leaving the country until the conclusion of investigation.

In January, after the defeat of the President Rajapaksa, a ship carrying 12 container loads of weapons was discovered in Galle.

It is believed that more than 100 firearms were three armouries maintained with permission from the Ministry of Defence.

The private company which maintained the armouries had provided security to ships against the Somali pirates.

It was alleged that the Sri Lanka Navy had lost income due to the floating armouries maintained by the company.