Four police constables attached to the Ambalangoda and Ahungalla police stations have been suspended from duty after medical tests confirmed drug use, NewsFirst reported on Friday morning.
The suspended officers comprise three constables from the Ambalangoda station and one from the Ahungalla station, the report said. The action followed a tip-off alleging that a group of officers in the area were using narcotics. Based on the information received, nine constables drawn from the Ambalangoda, Ahungalla, Bentota and Elpitiya stations were produced before the Judicial Medical Officer at the Elpitiya Base Hospital for examination.
According to the JMO’s findings, four of the nine officers tested positive for drug use. The Assistant Superintendent of Police in charge of the Ambalangoda Division ordered the suspensions on the basis of the report.
A senior police officer told NewsFirst that a preliminary investigation will follow, after which formal disciplinary action will be taken against the constables.
The case is the second time this year that drug testing within an enforcement-related workforce in the area has produced positive findings. In May, seven Sri Lanka Transport Board drivers tested positive for drugs in a similar Kadawatha-area screening operation. It also lands during an intensified national anti-narcotics drive: President Anura Kumara Dissanayake reported 186,000 arrests under the “Yukthiya/Rata Ekata” operation in late May and pledged that political protection for the trade had been broken for the first time.
Police have not named the suspended officers or said when the JMO examinations were carried out.
