President urges religious leaders to take lead against illicit drugs

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake invited all religious leaders to take the lead in the ideological and attitudinal transformation needed within society to defeat the scourge of illicit drugs, describing that task as among the foremost obligations facing the nation.

He made the remarks while addressing a religious summit at Temple Trees yesterday afternoon (05) to mark the first anniversary of the ‘Quit’ operation. The President said two distinct groups stood before the country: those who support the criminal state built around drugs and armed criminal gangs, and those who oppose it. He said religious leaders and religious institutions had a leading role to play.

He said illicit drugs had spread throughout all sections of society, from children to adults, irrespective of ethnicity, religion or age, and had even reached religious institutions held in high esteem and reverence by the public. He outlined the comprehensive programme launched by the Government to defeat the menace and launched the official website of the ‘Ratama Ekata’ (A Nation United) national operation, www.1818.gov.lk.

The President thanked venerable members of the Maha Sangha and other religious clergy for accepting the invitation. He said that looking at the thousands of members of the Maha Sangha and religious clergy gathered filled him with the firm conviction that, however great the challenge, it could be overcome.

He said that about a year ago the Government launched a joint operation after concluding that a coordinated programme was required, because statistics had shown drugs continuing to spread and increase despite seizures and other measures. An operational committee representing all stakeholders was appointed and met several times during the year. Members of the Maha Sangha and religious clergy representing the National Council attended those meetings, he said, and their support had consistently encouraged the effort. He said the menace could be defeated only through such a coordinated programme.

“We made a promise to the people of this country that we would eradicate this menace from Sri Lanka entirely,” he said. He said the Government had gradually opened the doors to the extent of the destruction caused by the problem, which was far deeper than it appeared from the outside, and had opened the doors of a cave filled with immense destruction. He said some people had been unsettled by the opening of those doors.

He said two paths were now before the country: to yield to those opposing the effort and abandon the journey, or to overcome whatever obstacles arose and bring to a successful conclusion the decision to defeat the menace. As a Government, he said, it had chosen the second path. The menace had to be defeated successfully.

“This is the greatest menace afflicting our nation today,” the President said. He said different social groups had problems unique to them, but that irrespective of social divisions or cultural and linguistic differences, the national menace confronting all was the drug menace. The nation had to be saved from the scourge and the path continued, he said.

He said a large quantity of drugs was seized during operations last year. The total quantity of drugs seized during this year amounted to 438,330 kilogrammes, he said.

He said that in 2022 only one person under the age of 18 was arrested in connection with the drug known as ‘Ice’. By 2025, however, 1,874 had been arrested. He said 11,737 young people over the age of 21 had also been arrested. Among this group, he said, 10,889 were between 18 and 21 years of age. There were also 1,068 children aged between 14 and 18, and 13 children aged between five and 14. He said this meant that even very young children had fallen victim. More than 200 girls had also been arrested. He said the menace was destroying the entire younger generation and the future, and that those who loved and cared about the country and nation, and who had hopes for the future of young people, could not remain silent. The task before them, he said, was to defeat it. He said all these figures demonstrated the scale of the menace.

He said that during this year 15,282 kilogrammes of narcotic drugs had been seized, including 6,528 kilogrammes of ‘Ice’ and 4,000 kilogrammes of heroin. That morning, he said, 150 kilogrammes of heroin and ‘Ice’ were seized. Authorities had also seized 2,598 kilogrammes of other drugs, 1,841 kilogrammes of hashish, 314 kilogrammes of cocaine, and nearly 4.5 million drug tablets and capsules.

The total value of the drugs seized was Rs. 218 billion, he said. When cannabis was included, the value rose to Rs. 224 billion. He described this as the drug market for a single year and said that, taking into account quantities that had not been seized, the enormous scale of the destruction became clear.

He said a powerful network had been built around this drug trade, which was worth around Rs. 220 billion, and that the country could not be rid of drugs without dismantling this network. He said the enormous wealth generated had enabled drug traffickers to buy off public officials, some officers of the Customs Department, officials of the Department of Motor Traffic, immigration officers, certain police officers, as well as businesspeople and even politicians. In the past, he said, leading drug traffickers were able to secure positions as chairpersons and members of local authorities and began building political movements with the enormous wealth they had accumulated through the drug trade.

He said the menace was engulfing the entire society and that there was no longer any institution that remained untouched. It was spreading into religious institutions that were revered and respected. For more than 2,000 years, he said, the Maha Sangha and the Sangha community had travelled from village to village, often wearing out their feet, to help build society. The menace had reached them, to varying degrees, as well, and had also spread to other religious institutions. The police, the three armed forces and State institutions had all been affected. In place of the State machinery that was visible, he said, a ‘shadow State’ operating from within had emerged. If this continued to grow, he said, all the mechanisms that uphold a respected society, sustain public hope and bring order to society would become ineffective, because the enormous illicit wealth they accumulated gave them the ability to take control of all these institutions.

He said again that two paths were before them. They could remain within their shadow State while others continued carrying out the work entrusted to them within the State, which was how many people had conducted themselves. As a Government, he said, a decision had been taken to defeat this shadow State and dismantle it.

“Our children cannot have a secure future unless we dismantle the shadow State linked to drugs,” he said. He asked how much hope parents placed in raising their children, saying parents spent most of their lives on their children to give them a good life, a good future and a safe society. He said he did not think there was a mother or father anywhere in the world who worked harder for their children. In a country where parents worked so hard to secure a good future for their children, he said, they were now confronted with the question of whether those children actually had a secure future. He said a large number of parents felt helpless in the face of this menace, which was spreading throughout society like a giant monster. The drug network associated with it and the criminal machinery connected to that network had to be dismantled, he said.

Under the ‘Ratama Ekata’ (A Nation United) programme, he said, plans were drawn up to dismantle this criminal State. As a result, organised criminals linked to the drug network had been arrested within Sri Lanka and those who had fled the country brought back. This year, he said, individuals known by various aliases who had terrorised towns and villages were arrested. The Government brought 67 people who were overseas back to Sri Lanka.

“Going forward, wherever in the world they may be hiding, if they are involved in organised crime connected to the drug trade in our country, we say to them: ‘You are not safe, wherever you may be,’” he said.

He said Red Notices had been issued for 112 people and assets worth 4,500 million acquired through drug trafficking had been frozen.

During this year, he said, 97 T-56 automatic firearms had been seized, a quantity that may even exceed what some police stations have available. Some of these firearms had come out of the armed forces, which had been revealed through audit reports. On certain occasions, he said, reports were received that a police officer had sold a firearm and fled. Firearms had found their way out. Authorities had seized 143 pistols, 47 AK-47 rifles and 105 revolvers. These were the quantities of firearms held by the criminal State, he said, and more were believed to exist. He asked whether society and children were safe when such a quantity of firearms was in the hands of criminals, and said children were not safe in this society. So many firearms were moving around freely, he said, and more must be seized. Plans had been drawn up to address this, which was why a major operation was being conducted to suppress this drug network.

In particular, he said, the Inspector-General of Police and the Police Department, together with the Commander of the Navy, the Commander of the Air Force, the Commander of the Army and the wider military apparatus, were making a tremendous effort in this operation, in these arrests and in defeating this menace. These institutions were engaged in a major operation to save the State and protect children. Yet, he said, instead of recognising these operations, if an officer made some mistake it became a newspaper headline and the main item on a television channel’s news programme. He asked who had made the effort to seize drugs worth nearly Rs. 220 billion and to confiscate such large quantities of firearms, saying it was the police and the three armed forces. The Government would therefore give due recognition to the work they had done in this operation. Steps had also been taken to provide bonuses and incentives to many officers who took part in operations in the recent past, and further measures would be considered. The support of the police and the three armed forces was essential for these operations, he said.

He said arrests alone were not enough and a rehabilitation programme was also needed. New rehabilitation centres had been established in Batticaloa, Akuressa, Nittambuwa and Kandy, and existing rehabilitation centres had been improved in Kandakadu, Senapura and Vavuniya. In addition, he said, plans were not limited to rehabilitation centres funded entirely by the State. Temples, religious clergy and civil society organisations also operated a number of rehabilitation centres, and the Government was ready to provide the fullest possible Government support to those centres, to work with them and provide the assistance they needed.

With the involvement of the Department of Health and a large number of relevant institutions, he said, 259,000 community awareness programmes on prevention had been organised across the country to educate the public and children.

He said the menace must be suppressed within the framework of the law. “We have absolutely no intention of stepping outside the legal framework in the process of defeating it,” he said. He said laws were in place and the Government operated under those laws. If the law was inadequate, new laws would be made.

He said there had been a major issue concerning the destruction of seized drugs and widespread public suspicion that large quantities shown as seized might subsequently find their way back on to the market. Under the legal framework that existed, there was no authority to destroy seized items until a case filed in court had concluded and the court had issued an order to destroy the items concerned. The legislation required to enable their destruction had been enacted, he said.

He said there had been no law to confiscate wealth and assets acquired through drugs — proceeds and assets acquired unlawfully. Therefore, in 2025, the law on the confiscation of unlawfully acquired assets was passed. It was under this confiscation law that assets worth Rs. 4.5 billion had now been confiscated from criminals. Had that law not existed, he said, there would have been no opportunity to seize those assets.

Another matter now under discussion, he said, was the Organised Crime Bill. At present, the law against organised criminals was enforced under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). That was the reality, he said. When an organised criminal attempted to escape from custody, the attempted escape had been sought to be brought under the law through the PTA. The act in question was an organised criminal attempting to escape from custody. Under the law currently in force, investigations had to be conducted and charges brought under the PTA. As there was no other option, he said, cases were attempted to be filed under the PTA.

He said the Government intended to substantially weaken the PTA because the country did not currently face terrorist activity on a day-to-day basis. It would be made a much weaker Act. There was a discussion on this, he said. However, strong legislation was needed to prevent organised crime. This was the law required in this era to free the nation from this menace.

He said the law was constantly evolving and that new laws were enacted in response to new challenges. There was a time when there were no environmental laws, but when the environment began to suffer serious damage, laws were enacted to protect it. There was a time when there were no money-laundering laws, but when the accumulation of illicit wealth became a major threat, the Money Laundering Act was introduced. There was a time when rulers did not destroy public property, but when rulers began destroying public property, legislation was introduced to protect it. Organised crime had now grown, he said, and therefore an Act to prevent organised crime was necessary in this era. The law was not eternal. A law enacted today would not remain in force for all time. New challenges emerged in society, and when they arose, strong laws were needed to address them.

At the very beginning of this programme, a year ago, he said, the Government had said that if the laws available to punish these individuals were inadequate, new laws would be introduced. That was what a Government was for. Citizens could not make these laws. An ordinary person could not make them, nor could a Grama Niladhari officer. If such a law was to be enacted, the authority lay with Parliament and nowhere else. Parliament had the power to legislate. Strong legislation was needed today to prevent organised crime, he said, and the Bill had now been presented to Parliament.

He said two groups were opposing this legislation. One was quite clear: those who receive privileges and protection from organised criminals. The Government did not take that group into consideration, he said. But there was another group — those who speak about democracy and the fundamental rights of the people of the country. The Government was ready to discuss the matter with that group. “Our intention is in no way to suppress the people or deprive them of their rights,” he said. Legislation was needed to combat organised crime, and the Government was prepared to enact it.

The Bill was currently before the Supreme Court and under consideration, he said. Those who had challenged the Bill before the Court had, at this stage, raised three main issues. One concerned the period of detention. Under this Bill, the detention period was 72 hours. It had been proposed that this was too long. There was a discussion on this before the Supreme Court. The Government was prepared to amend it and reduce the period from 72 hours to 48 hours, he said, and was ready to listen.

There was another matter under discussion concerning internationally recognised organised gangs identified by tattoos. There was an international trend towards identifying such gangs. If the country did not have a law to address this, and if such a provision was not needed at present, the Government was prepared to remove it, he said.

There was another provision stating that offences committed under the Excise Ordinance could also be dealt with under the Organised Crime Act. That provision too would be removed, making it clear that offences under the Excise Ordinance would not be dealt with under the Organised Crime Act. He said there was no problem with that.

These were the three main issues in the Bill currently being discussed before the Supreme Court, he said. If there were any others, the Government was ready to consider them. This was in no way about obtaining undue powers for him, the Government, the police or departments. He asked why those powers were needed, saying no one holds power forever. Whenever power was exercised, it must be done with the mindset of being ready to relinquish it. When exercising power, the laws enacted must always be considered by asking what those laws would mean when they were no longer in power. The Government was not acting with the intention of retaining power for the long term or with the mindset that it would never give it up. It acted knowing that the people had entrusted power and that they could take it back at any time through an election. Therefore, in exercising power, he said, there was no agenda involving him, his children or his relatives. That was why the Government was prepared to amend the law.

But the first question that must be settled through discussion, he said, was whether an Organised Crime Act was needed — an Act to prevent organised crime. He said he believed that everyone, except those who receive protection or privileges from organised criminals, would answer yes. The next question was whether the provisions in the Bill were too extensive or insufficient, which could be discussed. That was why the Government intended to inform the Supreme Court that it agreed to three amendments. It had repeatedly indicated to the Supreme Court that it was prepared to amend these provisions. What was needed was strong legislation to combat organised crime.

However, he said, the law alone was not enough. Ultimately, once an organised criminal or drug trafficker was arrested, that person must be brought before the law and punished. “As a Government, we do not follow a policy of imposing punishment outside the law. That has happened in the past. We will under no circumstances punish anyone outside the law,” he said. A law was required, and the case must be heard and punishment imposed in accordance with that law.

However, he said, trials take too long and that cannot continue. Those institutions must therefore be strengthened: the institutions conducting investigations; the Attorney General’s Department, which files cases; the Government Analyst’s Department, which provides the scientific evidence required for those cases; and the judicial sector, which ultimately hears those cases. The Government was intervening in all these areas. Plans had been made to improve investigative institutions and the police, and to provide them with specialised training. Investigations must be conducted, and cases must be filed on the basis of those investigations. For that, the Attorney General’s Department must be strengthened. In particular, Government Analyst’s reports were needed. He said the Government Analyst was present, and those reports were needed.

He said there had been a backlog of 36,000 reports. Normally, only around 3,000 reports were completed a month. Additional staff had been deployed and new allowances provided. The Navy also assisted with some infrastructure requirements. He said that providing assistance with infrastructure involved engineers, designers, workers and raw materials to demolish a building and construct a new one, a task for a small team, and that a team could also build a large reservoir, but that defeating this menace required the support of the people.

He said parents knew their children well and could recognise whether a child had fallen victim, whether a spouse was becoming involved, whether changes in behaviour were emerging, whether a child was becoming a member of the underworld, or whether a child was becoming involved in this menace. Before a police officer made an arrest, he said, parents knew whether their child was a drug user or a drug trafficker, because of the relationship between parents and children it was very difficult for this to happen without parents knowing. Parents therefore had a major role to play in confronting this menace.

In particular, through the Ministry of Education, he said, a programme was being developed not for children, but for parents, to explain what happens when their children’s futures are destroyed. He asked what happens when someone becomes addicted to drugs: the mind becomes confused, the body becomes emaciated, self-respect is lost, personality breaks down, the person is marginalised by society and, ultimately, the death penalty may be imposed under the law. If this law was strengthened, he said, the ultimate penalty would be death — that is what the law provides. Parents who love their children must understand that a child may initially become attracted to drugs, but that the eventual outcome could be the death penalty under the law. Parents therefore had a responsibility to prevent their beloved children from falling victim to this menace.

He said that when a family faced such a tragedy, mothers and fathers rushed to tell the Venerable Thero that they never imagined a younger son or elder son would end up like this, or that they never thought this would happen to a husband. Otherwise they went to their church, their priest or their Kurukkal. At the outset, he said, parents did not come directly to the police. Mothers and fathers were more open with religious leaders or with doctors. They did speak to doctors to some extent. However, they were more likely to open up to Buddhist monks and other religious clergy. Therefore, the first to hear about and witness the distressing consequences of this menace in a village were often the monks and religious clergy of that village.

He said that, in defeating a menace of this nature, while the police, the armed forces and the State machinery constituted the formal institutional response chosen as a society, the responsibility for providing wider social and ideological guidance beyond the formal system rested with venerable monks. He asked how many people they met in a day, a month or a year, how many sermons they delivered, how many times they advised children and parents, and how often they listened to their grief and suffering. He said he believed this was where the first line of defence lay.

“Our Venerable monks, together with the other religious clergy, are the principal force in providing the social leadership needed to defeat this menace,” he said.

He said many people had gathered and that he believed this was one of the largest gatherings of Buddhist monks in one place in Sri Lanka in recent times. A large number of Maulavis were also attending. Priests and Kurukkals had come from Jaffna, he said, and some of the Kurukkals who left Jaffna yesterday had arrived today. He said that demonstrated their commitment. He said that if the State alone could do this, a conference of this nature would not be held.