Police Headquarters has launched a special investigation into allegations that three police officers, including two attached to the Panadura Walana Central Anti-Corruption Unit, planted narcotics on innocent people to falsely implicate them in drug-related cases.
The investigation was initiated following a complaint received by Police Headquarters over a raid conducted on Wednesday (26).
According to the complaint, the officers allegedly accepted money from drug traffickers operating in Ratmalana, Dehiwala, Mount Lavinia, Moratuwa and Kohuwala in return for protection, while filing false cases against rivals and innocent civilians on the instructions of underworld figures operating from overseas.
The complaint alleges that the officers had links to associates of organised crime and drug trafficking figures known as “Kos Malli,” “Chuwa Samantha” and “Kudu Avishka,” who are reportedly directing criminal activities in Sri Lanka from overseas.
The three officers are further accused of receiving hundreds of thousands of rupees from overseas-based drug traffickers and operating a scheme to falsely implicate individuals in drug offences. Complaints regarding their alleged conduct have also reportedly been lodged with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka.
It is further alleged that the officers failed to take legal action against associates of the underworld figures named in the complaints while providing protection to their drug operations.
The complainants have also claimed that the alleged conduct has seriously damaged the reputation of the Walana Anti-Corruption Unit, which has earned considerable public trust through its operations.
The latest incident that prompted the complaint occurred on Wednesday, when the three officers allegedly arrested a young man after planting around 15 milligrams of a suspected narcotic substance on him.
The youth had reportedly obtained Rs. 125,000 by pawning a bracelet. However, only around Rs. 75,000 of the money was allegedly produced before the Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court.
The suspect subsequently informed the Magistrate of the circumstances surrounding his arrest and produced the pawn receipt as evidence.
He also requested that the substance allegedly recovered from his possession be subjected to laboratory analysis to determine its quantity and composition.
Following the submission, the Magistrate ordered that the suspected narcotic substance be sent to the Government Analyst for examination and that a report be submitted to court.
Police Headquarters is conducting further investigations into the allegations, including the conduct of the officers and their alleged links to organised criminal networks.
