Three Sri Lankan Army personnel has arrested for demanding ransom from drugs traffickers in Negombo and Chilaw yesterday, the Sri Lankan police said.
SL Police Spokesman SDIG Ajith Rohana said that two soldiers were arrested for extorting Rs. 15,000 from a woman involved in drug peddling in the Chilaw area while another soldier was arrested in Negombo for demanding Rs. 80,000 from a man who was also involved in drug trafficking.
The suspects had demanded money from them if they wanted to continue their drug trade
The spokesman said that Army Commander General Shavendra Silva has said the Army will also begin a special investigation into the three suspects and will take action to remove them from the service, Daily Mirror reported.
In 2016, Tamil Net reported that the Sri Lankan military under Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the former ‘Defence Secretary’ of occupying Colombo, deployed narcotics as a tool of genocidal war against Eelam Tamils. It was largely the Mannar area, which functioned as the hub for drug smuggling during the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime. The transition to Jaffna has taken place during the rule of Maithiripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickramasinghe.
