Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala today told Parliament that the Government has intensified investigations into drug-related offences, with 586,824 individuals arrested during 588,180 drug raids conducted over the past two years.The Minister said 11,970 of those arrested were below the age of 21, comprising 11,737 boys and 233 girls.

Of these, 10,673 boys and 216 girls were between the ages of 18 and 21. A further 1,064 boys and 14 girls below the age of 18 had also been arrested, he added.Wijepala further revealed that the Government had frozen assets worth Rs. 10,040 million over the past two years, which were allegedly acquired through illegal means.