Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshbandu Tennakoon yesterday mandated the implementation of the Yukthiya operation by all police stations, departments, divisions, districts, across the country from today.
The move is to bolster the fight against drug trafficking and organised crime. In a specially convened instructional class yesterday, the Acting IGP briefed the officers in charge of police stations, heads of police divisions and districts, as well as heads of crime divisions, headquarters inspectors, and officers in charge of crime branches that active engagement is compulsory on their part to the Yukthiya operation to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking and criminal operations.
As with this initiative the Acting IGP Tennakoon handed over a list of suspects to the officers in charge of crime, telling them to lead the charge in apprehending them. He told them to execute some 35,505 open warrants across the island. The operation targets to apprehend 4,258 suspects who remain at large, along with 807 suspects from 2022 and 1,678 from 2023, totalling 42,248 suspects.
The IGP directed all police divisions to expedite to apprehend the suspects. He issued an order mandating that all crime branch officers be deployed 24 hours a day. The operation aims to bring suspects from the open warrants lists to justice next month.
While the ongoing justice operation continues its relentless pursuit of criminal networks, the emphasis is on criminal units directly targeting persons involved in drug-related crimes for impactful justice, Police said.
