Individuals who fail to cooperate with police inspections of houses or vehicles will face legal action, Police Spokesman ASP F.U. Wootler warned today.

Addressing the media, he urged the public to extend full compliance to officers engaged in inspections under the ongoing national program to curb crime and drug peddling.

The Police spokesman said the program involves inspections, arrests, and investigations across the country, and stressed that public cooperation is vital.

His remarks followed an incident in the Minuwangoda Police Division today, where a car ignored orders to stop at three checkpoints. 

Police opened fire on the vehicle over suspicion, exercising their powers under the crime‑curbing initiative.

Two suspects were later arrested in Seeduwa, and the car was taken into custody. Investigations into the suspects are continuing. (Newswire)

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A joint special operation to inspect vehicles unfit for road use was carried out within the Nuwara Eliya Police Division on Wednesday (25 Feb), during which 49 vehicles were found unsuitable for travel. 

According to the Police, the operation took place along the Nuwara Eliya–Badulla road in the Haggala area and the Nuwara Eliya–Udupussellawa road in the Boralanda area.

The inspection was carried out by officers from the Nuwara Eliya Police Station, working together with officials from the Department of Motor Traffic.

During the inspections, prohibition orders were issued against 49 vehicles found unsuitable for travel due to poor maintenance and excessive black smoke emissions.

These included 18 passenger buses, 21 lorries, 8 dual-purpose vehicles, and 2 three-wheelers.

Police took custody of the drivers’ licenses and issued temporary licenses in their place. 

Drivers were instructed to repair and present their vehicles in roadworthy condition by March 27, 2026. (Newswire)

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The National Transport Commission (NTC) announced that all long-distance passenger buses will soon be required to display their official quality certification, allowing passengers to verify service standards before boarding.

NTC Chairman P.A. Chandrapala said passengers will have full rights to request and review these quality reports, which outline the vehicle’s condition and compliance with safety standards.

He made the remarks during the launch of a pilot project today (09) at the Bastian Mawatha Bus Terminal in Colombo to inspect buses operating on routes exceeding 100 kilometres.

The pilot initiative has been jointly launched by the Transport Ministry and the NTC with technical support from DIMO (Pvt) Ltd. (Newswire)

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The Sri Lanka Police has announced that long-distance buses, mostly travelling at night, will be subjected to random inspection in a bid to minimise bus accidents. 

Inspections will be carried out to identify buses driven by individuals who have consumed drugs or alcohol, and those driving recklessly and dangerously, among other traffic offences. 

Per a directive from the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Police officers will be deployed at selected places on the main road to inspect vehicles at night, especially long-distance buses. 

Police officers on motorcycles have also been authorised to conduct inspections of vehicles under this initiative. 

The measures are being taken following back-to-back road accidents involving long-distance buses last week. 

In the first incident, 20 persons were injured when a passenger bus fell into a precipice in the Dayaraba area of Welimada on Saturday (10 May).

On Sunday (11 May), 23 passengers were killed when a SLTB bus travelling from Kataragama to Kurunegala veered off the road and plunged into a ravine at Gerandi Ella in Kotmale.

On Monday (12 May), more than 20 people were injured when a private bus veered off the road and crashed in the Aladeniya area in Kandy. (Newswire)

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All Police personnel engaged in the nighttime inspection of vehicles have been instructed to wear luminous jackets and gloves.

They have also been ordered to use only the specific red signal torches provided to halt vehicles at night.

The directive was issued by the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), due to drivers being unable to control their vehicles in the instances of being stopped by Police using bright lights, resulting in accidents.

Incidents have also been reported of Police officers being involved in accidents due to not wearing luminous jackets while on night duty. 

As of last night, legal action had been initiated against 8,747 traffic violators, including 252 who were found to be driving under the influence of alcohol. (Newswire)

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