President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Friday (29) warned that the scale of drug trafficking in Sri Lanka could be significantly larger than official seizure figures suggest, noting that authorities have not intercepted all narcotics entering the country.
Speaking at an event, the President said law enforcement agencies had seized 1,947 kilograms of heroin, 2,062 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, commonly known as “Ice,” and 289 kilograms of cocaine during the anti-narcotics operations conducted between October 30, 2025 and May 2026.
“I do not think we have caught all the drugs entering the country. If we had seized everything, there would be no reason for traffickers to continue bringing them in,” he said.
The President said the volume of drugs seized indicates the extent of the narcotics trade operating within the country and the threat it poses, particularly to young people.
“If the quantity of drugs we have managed to seize is this large, one can imagine how much may still be circulating within the country,” he said.
He further revealed that 186,000 individuals had been arrested over the past seven months in connection with drug-related offences. Among them were 6,064 boys and 138 girls under the age of 21.
“These figures show how severely our younger generation has become vulnerable to this menace,” the President said. (Newswire)