• Ajith P Perera warns investigations could discourage Police 

Opposition Parliamentarian Ajith P Perera yesterday (9) claimed that an investigation had been initiated into Police officers who carried out a major drug raid at the Colombo Port, including Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Ranmal Kodithuwakku, warning that such action could discourage honest officials from performing their duties.Speaking in Parliament, Perera questioned the decision to investigate the Police team responsible for the recent seizure of more than 471 kgs of crystal methamphetamine Ice at the Port, despite the Government and its Ministers repeatedly stressing their commitment to combating the drug trade.

“Just a few days ago, a very large drug seizure was made. A container containing 471 kg of Ice was seized at the Port, with its value said to be around Rs 8,000 million,” he said.Perera said the operation had been conducted by a team headed by Kodithuwakku and questioned why an investigation had subsequently been launched into the officers involved in the raid.“When a seizure of this scale has been made, and several suspects, including Pakistani nationals and a leading businessman in this country, have been arrested, an investigation has now been started into the officers who carried out the raid. These kinds of things discourage honest officials,” he said.

He also linked the development to the controversy surrounding 323 containers that had been marked with red labels but were subsequently allowed to leave the Colombo Port.Perera said a committee appointed by the President had examined the matter and submitted a report stating that there had been shortcomings in the procedure, but alleged that the report had been kept from the public.He said a Parliamentary Select Committee was subsequently appointed following a request from the Opposition to investigate the matter, but claimed that it had still not submitted its report.“Following a request from the Opposition, a committee was appointed to investigate this. But, to date, the committee is delaying the submission of its report. The Justice Minister is the chairperson of that committee,” he said.

Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala was not available for comment.According to Police, the latest drug seizure involved 471 kg and 200gs of Ice, with an estimated street value exceeding Rs 8,000 million. Five suspects were initially arrested, including three Pakistani nationals and two Sri Lankan nationals.The container had been brought to Sri Lanka from Pakistan in June, allegedly under the guise of carrying towels for re-export. Investigators have found that the consignment was allegedly intended to be transshipped from Sri Lanka to Cameroon.