President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has told police officers who have been drawn into working with drug traffickers and organised criminal groups to either put themselves beyond the reach of those networks or leave the service.

“I invite both these groups: immediately cast away your fear. Become an officer who cannot be bought. If not, leave the uniform,” the President said, addressing the 160th Police Day commemoration at the Field Force Headquarters in Thimbirigasyaya on Thursday afternoon.

He said some officers had been pulled in through fear and others through financial or similar inducements, and that a small number of those assigned to fight drug and organised crime had themselves become entangled with it. Where corrupt officers did not leave voluntarily, he said, police disciplinary authorities must remove them following proper investigation and due process. He added that the conduct of a small group should not be allowed to define the majority who serve with dedication.

A pledge to amend the Constitution if required

Dissanayake said the government would not hesitate to change the Constitution itself to bring down drug trafficking and violent crime.

“If constitutional amendments are necessary for this purpose, we will make them without hesitation. We will not hesitate to introduce the necessary constitutional amendments for the well-being of the people of this country,” he said, in remarks reported by Ada Derana.

He said the highest number of drug raids in the country’s history had been carried out over the past two years, but that arrests alone were not enough: suspects had to be prosecuted and punished with the same urgency with which they were detained. Significant delays persist in the legal process, he said, and criminals know that punishment can be slow to arrive. The government had already introduced legislation to make those processes more efficient, and all relevant institutions would have to be activated to close the delays.

The pledge is a general anti-crime commitment. It is separate from the 22nd Amendment now before the Supreme Court, which concerns judges’ retirement ages and is unrelated to narcotics policy.

The enforcement record cited

According to figures the President gave the ceremony, operations against the drug trade have seized 525kg of heroin, 1,996kg of ICE, 44,684kg of Kerala cannabis and 16.2 million narcotic pills. He said roughly 3,850 illicit firearms, including T-56 assault rifles, pistols and revolvers, had been recovered from criminal networks, and that intelligence-led work had brought fugitives back from overseas with the help of foreign authorities, with more expected.

Daily Mirror’s two reports on the same speech give different counts for those returns — one puts the number of armed criminals brought back at 74, the other at 70. Neither figure has been reconciled by the outlet or by any other newsroom.

Police statistics released on 31 August put drug arrests at 531,116 since the government took office.

Promotions, a mobile app and a commemorative stamp

The President said steps would be taken to give the police the resources to become a respected service: a proper promotion scheme, a new uniform expected around the middle of next year, a risk allowance for all officers, infrastructure development and recruitment to fill staffing gaps.

Promotion letters were presented marking the elevation of 1,489 officers below the rank of Chief Inspector and 153 Special Task Force officers under the long-service scheme, with effect from 1 January 2026. A Sri Lanka Police Mobile App was launched at the ceremony alongside an upgraded police.lk website, and a commemorative stamp and first-day cover for the 160th anniversary were presented to the President. Inspector General of Police Priyantha Weerasuriya presented a commemorative gift to mark the President’s attendance.

The Sri Lanka Police Service was established on 3 September 1866. Officers who died in the line of duty were commemorated as part of the day’s proceedings.

A commemoration at a difficult moment for the service

The anniversary falls in a period of sustained scrutiny of policing. The Criminal Investigation Department received a new director on 1 September.

It also comes as the force’s use of firearms draws attention: officers of the Kompannavidiya division opened fire on a three-wheeler in Borella on Thursday morning, arresting five men found with swords. Separately, police this week pursued organised-crime investigations including the arrest of a suspect accused of supplying motorcycles to underworld groups. On the same day as the anniversary, the traffic division warned its own officers that refusing valid digital insurance cards would be treated as a serious dereliction of duty.

Not reported

No source named the individual officers or units honoured at the ceremony, gave the President’s assessment of the specific criticisms he acknowledged the force faces, or said which legislation he was referring to as already introduced. The IGP’s own remarks to the commemoration were not reported.

Sources