• Min. Wijepala reveals list of LG Elections candidates and claims have organised-crime links; fresh instructions to Police/CID 

The Ministry of Public Security has instructed the Police to investigate and take action against individuals representing various Opposition political parties who are alleged to have links with organised crime, as recently revealed by Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala.

Speaking in the Parliament last week, Minister Wijepala said that investigations had uncovered connections between several organised criminal groups and candidates who contested the recent Local Government (LG) Elections.

When queried by The Daily Morning as to whether the Police would be taking action against such individuals, he said: "What is ironic is that some of these people come to the Parliament and speak about national security, when their own members are linked to organised crime. More than 50 such individuals have been identified. They are involved in organised crime activities and drug trafficking. Their details have now been handed over to the Police to take action."

He also claimed that while certain investigations against individuals with links to organised crime had been suppressed in the past by using various political affiliations, fresh instructions have now been given to the Police and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to restart them.

In response to Opposition Parliamentarian Dayasiri Jayasekara, who criticised the Government for failing to address the growing wave of killings, Wijepala revealed a list of LG Elections candidates who contested from various Opposition political parties, and claimed that those individuals have links to organised crime. The list includes nine candidates from the main Opposition, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, eight from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, four from the People’s Alliance, three from the United National Party, and one from the Sarvajana Balaya.