Sri Lanka Police to rehabilitate 12,500 drug users

June 20, 2024 at 11:22 AM

Approximately 1,500 youth have been rehabilitated from drug use through a new Police programme, Inspector General of Police Deshabandu Tennakoon announced.

As the next phase, 285 rehabilitation centres will be established across Sri Lanka to rehabilitate 12,500 drug users, marking the biggest drug rehabilitation programme in the country’s history, he said. 

Commenting on the ‘Yukthiya’ special operation by the Sri Lanka Police to combat drug and crime-related activities, Tennakoon said the programme will be intensified next month.

“The Yukthiya operation will be escalated over the next month. The remaining drug addicts will be dealt with like a Tsunami,” he said.

The Police Chief praised the success of the Yukthiya programme, stating that its launch in December 2023 resulted in a 23% reduction in crime. (Newswire)