Police and operations against narcotics and moonshine

We have been inundated with the police arresting drug addicts, drug peddlers and moonshine distillers these day in the electronic as well as other media. One begins to wonder as to how the police had been so swift in this operation after orders were given to eradicate this menace which accounts for so many innocent lives.

Obviously there is something fishy in this whole business. We begin to suspect that the police knew about these illegal activities for a long time. But either they were reluctant to put their hands into this as most of the persons engaged in these illegal activities were shielded by politicians or higher ups in the police service. There may also have been some oiling of the palms as is common in Sri Lanka! Now with the Presidential decree to eradicate these activities the police seem to be going hell for leather to arrest the persons involved. And what is more interesting is that the police know exactly where the hideouts were located, whether in the wood or in water!

It is a very good move on the part of the police to have arrested their own sleuths who were supposed to be responsible for eradicating the menace, but were engaged in recycling the stocks of drugs under their care with the idea of making a quick buck at the expense of ruining the lives of innocent persons.

Whatever it is, we are happy that at last there is some concrete measures taken to see an end to this menace unlike earlier when it was NATO(no action talk only) as even the reimposing of the death penalty was talked about.

We do hope the police and the excise personnel will continue the good work and eradicate this deadly menace from Sri Lanka.

H. M. Nissanka Warakaulle