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Sri Lanka Prisons Chief calls for hanging of major drug traffickers Commissioner General of Prisons and Media Spokesman Jagath Weerasinghe says that large-scale drug traffickers should be sentenced to death and hanged, as they are destroying an entire nation. He made this statement while attending the 435th lecture of a public awareness programme in Nawalapitiya, which was organised by the Nawalapitiya Police and the Kotmale Lions’ Club. The programme was held to educate 500 school students about the dangers of drugs. Speaking at the event, Weerasinghe said Sri Lanka has 36 prisons that can accommodate about 10,500 inmates, but more than 36,000 detainees are currently being held. He warned that at the current rate of arrests, this number could soon exceed 40,000. He pointed out that around 65% of the prisoners are being held for drug-related offences and that most of the drug addicts are Sinhalese-Buddhist youth. He said he decided to launch this awareness programme because schoolchildren, as the future citizens of the country, must be guided along the right path, or else the nation would face serious consequences. The Commissioner General also revealed that 42 children under the age of five are living inside prisons due to crimes committed by their mothers, including 19 boys and 23 girls. According to Weerasinghe, there are currently 805 men and 21 women on death row in Sri Lankan prisons. Commenting on organised crime, he said the Southern Province has now become the main region for underworld activities. He questioned how a well-educated society had turned into one where people commit murders for money. Weerasinghe warned that the misuse of drugs, alcohol, and technology is pushing young people towards dangerous behaviour. He said that drug abuse is spreading at an alarming rate and that synthetic drugs are particularly deadly, as they are made from multiple toxic chemicals that can destroy the body’s system and kill users within just two years. He urged political leaders to inform President Anura Kumara Dissanayake that it is essential for those found guilty of large-scale drug trafficking to be sentenced to death and hanged. Weerasinghe stressed that the ongoing drug problem is destroying generations and said that only strong action, including capital punishment for major drug traffickers, can protect the nation’s future.
