The Pulseline News Desk
Sri Lankan authorities are conducting special operations in collaboration with international law enforcement agencies to bring back organised crime and drug trafficking masterminds operating from overseas, Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananda Wijepala told Parliament on Friday (23).
The Minister has said the Government was intensifying efforts to dismantle criminal networks behind a spate of shootings and violent incidents, many of which he attributed to escalating rivalries between underworld groups and drug trafficking networks.
He has said the priority was to protect the public, disrupt organised criminal activity and ensure that those responsible for directing violence were brought before the law, regardless of where they were operating.
Wijepala has disclosed that 17 Special Task Force teams had been deployed specifically to combat organised crime and underworld activity, alongside measures to strengthen investigations and bring perpetrators to justice.
He has identified the overseas operations of suspected criminal masterminds as a significant challenge for law enforcement, noting that some individuals believed to be directing criminal activities in Sri Lanka were operating from foreign countries.
However, the Minister has said the Government had taken the necessary measures to secure their return, with international cooperation playing a key role in the effort.
The operations form part of a broader push to tackle organised crime and drug trafficking, which authorities have linked to violent confrontations between rival criminal groups.
The challenge extends beyond arresting those who carry out shootings and other offences on the ground. Investigators must also identify the individuals allegedly financing, coordinating and directing criminal activities from outside the country.
Wijepala had not disclosed the identities of the overseas suspects or specify the countries from which they were operating and has also not provided a timeline for their return.
His statement nevertheless signalled that the Government intends to pursue criminal suspects beyond Sri Lanka’s borders while strengthening domestic operations against organised crime.
The effectiveness of these efforts will depend on sustained investigations, cooperation with foreign law enforcement agencies and the successful prosecution of those implicated in violent crime and drug trafficking.
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