Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala says a total of 232 Sri Lankan suspects who have been issued Interpol Red Notices are currently hiding in various countries.

Speaking in Parliament today (26), the Minister said that 96 of them are suspected organised criminals, of whom 37 have so far been identified, and that necessary steps are being taken to arrest and extradite them to Sri Lanka.

He stated that over the past 20 months, authorities have brought back 23 organised criminals who were subject to Red Notices, while another 35 suspects without Red Notices were also returned to Sri Lanka, bringing the total number of repatriated suspects to 58.

The Minister revealed that in addition to this group, 96 more organised criminals who have been issued Red Notice are currently hiding in countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Russia, Italy and Saudi Arabia, etc.

He further stated that action has been initiated to apprehend and bring them back to Sri Lanka as soon as possible.

Minister Wijepala added that the second and third tiers of these organised criminal networks have also been identified, and legal action is underway.

Commenting further, Minister Wijepala said, “out of 96 organized criminals, 37 are currently in various countries, including 19 in the UAE, 11 in India, and one each in Malaysia, the UK, France, Canada, Russia, Italy and Saudi Arabia.”

He said these individuals are allegedly operating drug trafficking networks from abroad, particularly from the Middle East, and assured that steps are being taken to arrest and bring them back to Sri Lanka as soon as possible.

The Minister further stated that the second and third tiers of these organised criminal networks have also been identified and that legal action is already underway, including measures to confiscate the illicit assets accumulated through such activities.