Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala said the government will clear all standing vacancies in the Sri Lanka Police force by July 31, 2027, and is moving to secure Interpol red notices against former ministers and other suspects who have fled the country.
Addressing the Kandy District Coordinating Committee on Friday, the minister said promotions and recruitment in the police force — frozen for the past five years — were restarted this year. He framed the July 2027 target as the end-point of a multi-stage exercise to rebuild the force’s command structure and front-line strength.
In a parallel statement at the same meeting, Wijepala said “urgent steps” will be taken to bring back former ministers and accused criminals who are hiding overseas with outstanding court warrants. The Ministry of Public Security will work with Interpol to issue red notices against the named individuals, he said, but did not publicly identify the suspects on the current target list.
The push extends a broader extradition and asset-recovery effort that has already produced red notices against 89 wanted suspects and the deportation of 21 fugitives from the UAE in recent weeks. The minister has previously pledged closer cooperation with foreign jurisdictions holding organised crime suspects.
The five-year gap in police promotions and recruitment is widely blamed on the post-2022 fiscal squeeze, which froze most state hiring during the IMF programme. Wijepala did not disclose the size of the current vacancy backlog or the recruitment budget required to close it.
Sources: NewsFirst — vacancies, NewsFirst — fugitives.
