(COLOMBO) – A total of 56,541 suspects, the bulk of them drug addicts have been rounded up throughout Sri Lanka during an ongoing anti-crime special operation that started on December 17 last year, police said.
They said operation ‘Yukthiya’ or Justice carried out by the police and armed forces has struck most parts of the island-nation during this period.
They added that 49,558 suspects were arrested in connection with drug-related offenses, while 6,983 individuals were arrested for various criminal activities.
Among the 49,558 suspects arrested for drug offenses, 1,817 are being held under detention orders, while some 1,981 drug addicts have been referred for rehabilitation.
However local and foreign rights groups including the US has cautioned the Government to act within the law and to ensure that those being arrested are entitled to their fundamental rights as enshrined in the country’s Constitution.
Media reports have said that most of those detained are being held in inhumane conditions at make-shift holding centres without access to lawyers and relatives.
However the country’s Public Security Minister Tiran Alles has vowed to pursue with the operation protests or otherwise and has promised to rid the country of crime and drugs.
However at least 10 persons are known to have been killed and many others left injured in daring gang-style strikes during this same period.
