Former President Maithripala Sirisena has said that a group of Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) officers he once decorated with Presidential Awards for major drug seizures were, within weeks, found to be linked to drug lords and underworld figures.
Speaking at a public event, Sirisena recalled that during his presidency he ordered the destruction of seized narcotics worth millions of rupees on the bureau’s recommendation, and presented Presidential Awards to officers credited with the operations.
“Within a week or two of the awards, it came to light that they were the main persons associated with drug lords and underworld figures, and were involved in the drug business,” Sirisena said.
The former president, who held office from 2015 to 2019, used the remarks to flag deeper concerns about corruption and infiltration within Sri Lanka’s anti-narcotics apparatus, calling for stronger accountability mechanisms.
The PNB has remained the front-line agency in major heroin and methamphetamine raids over the past several years, including the 302 kilograms of narcotics destroyed at the Puttalam incinerator and ongoing operations under the Rata Ekata anti-narcotics drive. Sirisena’s account points to a long-running pattern in which seizure statistics and decorations have not insulated the bureau from internal compromise.
The remarks land at a politically sensitive moment for Sirisena, who is also engaged with the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption on separate matters, and whose former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando recently testified on Easter bombing prior knowledge.
Source: Newswire.
