By Rathindra Kuruwita

The police no longer had adequate resources to deal with organised crime and that had led to an increase in gang related violence in recent months, retired Senior DIG Priyantha Jayakody said yesterday.He said that when there was an economic crisis, the crime rates went up.

“This is natural. However, the problem is that the Police are now entrusted with many duties unlike in the past,” he said.

The former SDIG said that police stations across the country must deploy policemen to protect various state- and privately-owned institutions. They must be involved in controlling protests, which, he said, had become the order of the day.

“They also have to assist in the distribution of fuel and gas and solve many issues that arise in fuel and gas queues. Police stations from the periphery too must send in personnel to Colombo for protest control,” Jayakody said.

“Therefore, the Police don’t have time to stop gangs. These gangs make money by selling drugs and there is an increasing demand for drugs.

“These groups are now fighting to get a bigger share of the drug business. They are also killing police informants. This is a dangerous development and the police must immediately take steps to curb organised crime,” the former SDIG said.