News
Theft of court productions in drug cases to be tackled by incinerating them, while keeping only a sample
By Saman Indrajith
Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe told Parliament yesterday that an incinerator set up in Wanathawilluwa at a cost of Rs 18 million to destroy narcotic drugs would be operational from next month.
Presenting regulations under the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance for approval in Parliament, the minister said that storing and protecting narcotic substances produced before courts until the case proceedings are over had been a problem. “It is not an easy task to protect large amounts of narcotics. As we know there are many Justice Ministry employees now in prisons for stealing these court productions and selling them in the market again. As such we have amended the law enabling only a sample to be kept for judicial purposes and to destroy the rest,” Minister Rajapakshe said.
“An incinerator was set up at a land belonging to Wanathwilluwa police and arrangements have been made to incinerate 300 kilos of heroin produced before courts on the first day of the operation.”
The Minister said this when the regulations under the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance were taken up for approval in Parliament.
He said under the new regulations, the magistrate can order the seized drugs to be destroyed after obtaining a sample of the stock and other required evidence before concluding the case.
There had been environmental and safety issues because the drugs are to be incinerated at a temperature between 800 Celsius and 1,100 Celsius. These problems have been addressed. “The drugs will be destroyed under a proper procedure with the participation of the magistrate, the police, the Attorney General’s Department and the Government Analyst’s Department,” he said.
He said after the opening of the incinerator, steps would be taken to destroy the seized drugs once a month.
Following the conclusion of bilateral discussions between President Anura Kumara Disanayake and Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, official-level talks between the delegations of Sri Lanka and India commenced this morning (05) at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.
Representing the Government of Sri Lanka were Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath; Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Anil Jayantha; Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake; Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe, along with other senior officials.
The Indian delegation included Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and His Excellency Santosh Jha, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, along with several other senior officials of the Government of India.
Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, who arrived in Sri Lanka on the invitation of President Anura Kumara Disanayake on Friday [04] night, visited the Presidential Secretariat this morning (05).
The Indian Prime Minister was warmly welcomed by President Anura Kumara Disanayake upon his arrival at the Presidential Secretariat.
Prime Minister Modi is currently on a state visit to Sri Lanka, reaffirming the theme “Friendship of Centuries — Commitment to a Prosperous Future” which symbolises the longstanding ties between Sri Lanka and India. The Indian Premier is scheduled to remain in the country until tomorrow (06).
[PMD]
The official welcoming ceremony for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was held this morning (05) at the Independence Square in Colombo.
On arrival at the Independence Square the Indian Prime Minister was warmly welcomed by President Anura Kumara Disanayake.
Discussions between Sri Lankan and Indian delegations at the presidential secretariat
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Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi arrives at the presidential secretariat
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