Over 5,000 law breakers
arrested in four days - Police
by Norman Palihawadane
Police came down hard on law breakers island
wide in a four-day period from April 10 to 14. Over 5,000
persons were arrested and 3,141 cases filed, police sources said
adding that most of them were drug related offences.
DIG H. Ambanwala told The Island yesterday that
the raids were conducted to implement President Mahinda
Rajapakse’s ‘Mathata Thitha’concept.
He said as the police implemented a tough
programme to fight the drug menace, this Sinhala and Hindu New
Year was relatively peaceful when compared to the recent past.
DIG Ambanawala said that 115 persons were nabbed
for smoking in public places, 111 drivers were arrested for
driving under the influence of liquor, 223 persons were taken in
misbehaving in public places under the influence of liquor.
In another incident, a woman who tried to
smuggle a packet of heroin, worth over Rs 200,000, inside a
parcel of potato curry, into the Magazine Prison, was detected
by prison officials on Saturday. She had attempted to pass the
parcel to a drug convicted addict, officials said.
During the year 2006 the total number of cases
of drug related arrests was 47,298. More than half of them were
aged 30 years or more and a third of them were in their
twenties. The man to woman ratio of drug arrests was 28:1. Of
the drug related arrests, 12,551 were for heroin and 34,728 for
cannabis. Most of the drug related arrests, 72 per cent, were
reported from the Western Province followed by the Southern
province 8 per cent and the Central province 6 per cent. The
Colombo district accounted for 60 per cent of the drug related
arrests followed by the Gampaha district 6 per cent and the
Kalutara district 6 per cent.
Police yesterday opened a new unit at the Police
Headquarters in Colombo to launch operations against drug
related offences. The police have requested the public to give
any information related to illicit liquor, drugs, and tobacco
use on the following numbers - 0112333496, 0112440435, and
0112242111 extension 304.
