Sri Lankan authorities have identified 112 people wanted under Interpol Red Notices who are believed to be hiding in 13 countries, Police Spokesman ASP F.U. Wootler said, adding that urgent measures are under way to bring them back and that police expect to repatriate them by 2027.
He was briefing the media on progress under the “Ratama Ekata” national operation, the Daily Mirror reported at 11.21 a.m. Legal action will be taken against the suspects on their return, he said.
What the figure measures — and what it does not
This is a count of suspects located, not of notices issued, and not of suspects returned. The distinction matters because all three numbers are in circulation.
In August this desk reported Wootler telling the same briefing series that Red Notices had been issued for 93 suspects believed to be overseas, and that 73 had already been brought back — 38 through Red Notices across 2024, 2025 and 2026 to date, and 35 more through the direct intervention of the Inspector General of Police. The 73 figure has since been reported elsewhere as the number of fugitives still being tracked, which inverts it.
Today’s 112 is therefore a larger group than August’s 93 and a different measure again from the 73 returned. The filing does not name the 13 countries.
Assets: 2026 has overtaken both previous years
Wootler said assets identified for state acquisition were worth Rs. 1,490 million in 2024, Rs. 1,549 million in 2025, and Rs. 1,656 million so far in 2026, as of 28 October. The assets include gold jewellery, land and property, vehicles and cash. Two specialised police divisions are investigating round the clock.
The 2024 and 2025 figures match the ones Wootler gave in August to the rupee. The 2026 figure does not: in mid-August he put the year’s total at Rs. 839 million. It has therefore roughly doubled in eleven weeks, and 2026 has now passed both completed years with two months still to run.
Drug seizures over one year and two
Police gave seizures over the past two years to October 2026 as 4,483 kg of heroin (Rs. 107.942 billion), 7,129 kg of ICE (Rs. 121.64 billion), 33,277 kg of cannabis (Rs. 5.293 billion) and 333 kg of cocaine (Rs. 14.306 billion).
Separately, reviewing the first year of Ratama Ekata since its launch in October 2025, police reported 2,835 kg 682 g of heroin, 3,550 kg 750 g of ICE, 297 kg 135 g of cocaine and 11,167 kg 569 g of cannabis.
Because the filing gives both windows, the earlier year can be derived by subtraction — and the two years are not alike:
| Drug | Year to Oct 2026 | Implied prior year |
|---|---|---|
| Heroin | 2,836 kg | ~1,647 kg |
| ICE | 3,551 kg | ~3,578 kg |
| Cannabis | 11,168 kg | ~22,109 kg |
| Cocaine | 297 kg | ~36 kg |
On these figures heroin seizures rose by about 72%, ICE was flat, cannabis roughly halved, and cocaine rose roughly eightfold. The filing offers no explanation for any of these movements, and a change in seizures is not the same as a change in trafficking.
The one-year figures are also close to, but not identical with, the totals Cabinet Spokesman Dr Nalinda Jayatissa gave on 20 October for the operation’s first year — 2,485.1 kg of heroin, 3,302.07 kg of Ice, 297.1 kg of cocaine and 11,146 kg of cannabis. The cocaine totals are effectively the same number; heroin and ICE are several hundred kilogrammes higher in today’s account. The two sets are ten days apart and cut the year slightly differently.
Two arrest counts that are not comparable
Police said 5,743 people allegedly linked to various crimes were arrested during the period, with illicit-asset investigations ongoing against 450 of them.
That arrest figure cannot be read against the 300,218 arrests Cabinet reported for the operation’s first year. The asset-investigation counts, however, are all but identical — 450 today against 449 on 20 October — which indicates today’s 5,743 is a narrower cohort than the headline total rather than a revision of it. No filing defines either population.
Wootler also warned that possessing, trafficking, trading or producing more than five grammes of heroin, ICE or cocaine can carry the death penalty or life imprisonment on conviction before the High Court.
Not reported
The filing does not name the 13 countries, say how many of the 112 are subject to active extradition proceedings, or explain what makes 2027 the expected date. It does not say which two police divisions are running the asset investigations, how much of the Rs. 1,656 million has actually been transferred to the state as opposed to identified, or how many asset cases have reached court. It gives no figure for suspects returned during 2026, and does not reconcile the 5,743 arrests with the 300,218 reported nine days earlier.
Sri Lanka’s record on returns is mixed: an alleged trafficker known as ‘Ran Malli’ was arrested in Bulgaria on a Red Notice this month, while the extradition of former Central Bank governor Arjuna Mahendran has remained legally blocked.
Single source. This desk checked the Hiru News homepage rail and the NewsFirst homepage listing; neither had filed on the briefing at the time of writing. Ada Derana has returned an HTTP 403 to this desk for some 48 consecutive days and could not be consulted.