Prisons Commissioner Jagath Weerasinghe has revealed that more than 230,000 schoolchildren in the Colombo district alone are addicted to drugs.
He made this disclosure while participating in an awareness program on preventing drug abuse at Godapitiya National School in Akuressa yesterday (27).
“In the Colombo district of the Western Province alone, 230,982 schoolchildren are drug addicts. I am sure that the Southern Province will be pushed to an even greater level. The South is number one in underworld activities. The majority of those imprisoned in Sri Lanka are youth, and also those with low literacy levels,” he said.
Commissioner Weerasinghe further shared a distressing incident highlighting the social consequences of drug-related offences:
“There were 42 children under the age of 5 because of the mistakes made by their mother. Let’s say they were sentenced to 10 years in prison. We let the child and her stay together for 5 years. On the day they turn 5, we separate the child and mother. That was the saddest moment I have ever seen in my life. The child was screaming for his mother. The mother was screaming for the child. They were the only ones who had been there for 5 years. The law is being violated. Therefore, never make mistakes as a woman. This government has a huge desire to create a drug-free country.”
Meanwhile, speaking at an event in Kalutara yesterday, Kalutara District DIG Jayantha Padmini Weerasuriya stated that measures are already in place to prevent drug trafficking in schools.
“We have already deployed a large number of officers in civilian clothes. When you come home from school, look at how you go, who you associate with, where you hang out. If you have any information — if there are such incidents at bus stands, shops, etc. — when you come home from school, please let us know. My telephone number is 071 859 2683.”
