Sri Lanka Police arrested 593 suspects in a single 24-hour phase of the ongoing island-wide anti-crime and anti-drug operation directed by the Inspector General of Police, with 27,042 individuals checked during sweeps conducted on Saturday, Ada Derana reported.
A further 15 individuals directly linked to specific criminal activities were identified, while 229 outstanding warrant suspects and 122 open warrant suspects were taken into custody during the same window.
Officers also detained 121 drunk drivers and 88 motorists for reckless driving, while legal action was initiated against 3,977 individuals for other traffic-related offences. The combined drink-driving and traffic enforcement push reflects the sustained crackdown that has run alongside the post-Avurudu policing calendar through Vesak week.
The 593 figure builds on a similar phase last month in which 608 suspects were detained after 26,600 people were checked in a single 24-hour sweep, and is part of the broader Rata Ekata operation which has logged more than 156,000 arrests and 1,917kg of heroin seizures over six months since its October 2025 launch.
The latest tally was released as a separate Colombo raid saw around 120 foreign nationals from seven countries arrested at a Rajagiriya premises over alleged illegal financial operations on Sunday morning, indicating that the divisional sweeps and targeted financial-crime raids are running in parallel.
Police have not disclosed how the 593 arrests break down by offence category beyond the warrant and traffic figures, and have not named the divisions where the largest tallies were recorded.
