Sri Lankan police announced on Sunday they would more than double the number of arrests as part of a massive ongoing anti-drug operation that has been condemned by the United Nations and has already led to the detention of dozens and thousands of suspects.
At least 30,000 people have been arrested since the police operation called “Yuktiya,” or “justice,” began in December.
Police announced on Sunday that they were launching a new phase with the aim of arresting more than 42,000 more suspects.
“All police stations will have to work around the clock over the next month to arrest and bring to justice 42,248 suspects,” the police said in a statement.
The decision comes two days after the UN human rights agency criticized the operation following allegations of unauthorized searches, arbitrary arrests and detentions, ill-treatment, strip searches in public and torture.
Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, called on the Sri Lankan government to review the operation and prioritize a human rights-based approach to combating illegal drugs.
“Security forces reportedly conducted raids without warrants and arrested suspected drug sellers and users. “Hundreds of these people have been taken to army-run rehabilitation centers,” a spokeswoman said on Friday. Word from Mr. Turk.
The High Commissioner's spokesman stated that the lawyers defending the detained suspects were victims of police intimidation.
The authorities point out that the island in the Indian Ocean is used as a transit point for drug trafficking.
According to police, almost 800 kg of drugs, including 340 kg of cannabis and 70 kg of heroin, were seized as part of this operation.
For her part, human rights activist Ambika Satkunanathan denounces searches that are not based on evidence but target “only poor areas” without targeting major drug traffickers.
According to police, on December 31, one police officer was killed and another was seriously injured during an anti-narcotics operation at a hotel as part of Operation Yuktiya.