June 20, Colombo (LNW): Inspector General of Police Deshabandu Tennakoon announced that around 1,500 young individuals have successfully undergone rehabilitation for drug use through a recent initiative by the Sri Lanka Police.
In a significant expansion of this effort, 285 new rehabilitation centres are planned across the country to treat 12,500 drug users, making it the largest drug rehabilitation programme in Sri Lankan history, Tennakoon stated.
Discussing the ‘Yukthiya’ special operation aimed at tackling drug and crime-related activities, Tennakoon mentioned that the programme will see increased intensity in the coming month.
“The Yukthiya operation will ramp up significantly over the next month, addressing the remaining drug addicts with a force akin to a tsunami,” he asserted.
Tennakoon lauded the effectiveness of the Yukthiya programme, noting that since its inception in December 2023, there has been a 23 per cent decrease in crime rates.
