7 months ago
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Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake connected Thursday (October 30, 2025) launched an island-wide programme aimed astatine ending the country’s enduring cause occupation that, the person said, immoderate successful the constabulary unit are portion of.
Speaking astatine an lawsuit to people the motorboat of the initiative, titled ‘United arsenic a Nation – National Drive’, the leftist leader, whose authorities came to powerfulness a twelvemonth ago, warned constabulary officers reportedly progressive successful narcotics networks of pugnacious action. “Leave immediately! Otherwise, we volition region you,” President Dissanayake said, adding that the prevalent sentiment that the cause menace could beryllium resolved if the constabulary section is cleansed, “is true”.
Located on a important shipping route, Sri Lanka has been grappling with the introduction of narcotics substances implicit galore years. While the land was earlier utilized mostly arsenic a transit hub by planetary pedlars, the occupation of trafficking and cause usage wrong the land has grown importantly implicit the past fewer years, according to officials. Youth, successful particular, person been affected, making the cause occupation a superior interest for parents crossed the country.
According to information published by the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board, Sri Lanka constabulary made 228,450 drug-related arrests past year, including done a controversial cognition launched by the past government, wherever thousands were arrested amid concerns of rights violations.
This year, astir 2,00,000 individuals person been arrested, according to constabulary records, for alleged possession of narcotic substances, including heroin, cocaine, “Ice” oregon methamphetamine and cannabis. On October 26, 2025, an Indian nationalist was apprehended astatine the Bandaranaike International Airport successful Colombo with a stash of heroin, weighing astir 3 kilos and worthy millions, concealed successful his luggage. He was travelling from Malaysia, constabulary said.
“Much of the drugs entering Sri Lanka travel from Pakistan and Afghanistan,” a elder authoritative told The Hindu, requesting anonymity, citing sensitivity of the government’s caller initiative. “Some types travel from Europe and India arsenic well. We present person the enactment of the planetary assemblage to people these networks some successful onshore and oversea successful our respective territories,” helium said.
Not conscionable the police, but Sri Lanka’s subject has besides been accused of being complicit successful narcotics networks. In a caller parliamentary address, Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) person and Jaffna District MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam said members of the subject played “a cardinal role” successful cause peddling and usage crossed Tamil-majority districts successful the island’s northbound and east, “deliberately fostering” cause addiction among Tamil youth. Drug usage took basal successful Jaffna aft it came nether subject concern successful 1995, and worsened aft 2009, erstwhile the civilian warfare ended, the legislator said, contending that the usage of drugs was “non-existent” erstwhile the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controlled the areas. “It is affecting our nine similar a cancer,” helium said.
With President Dissanayake’s accent connected eradicating the problem, officials said adjacent constabulary and subject unit volition not beryllium spared. “In information we person arrested galore suspects from the constabulary unit and subject successful this connection,” the elder authoritative said. The authorities aims to physique consciousness astatine the colony level, and is preparing to acceptable up infrastructure to enactment and rehabilitate users successful each districts, according to officials.
