Operation Yukthiya (), also known as Sri Lanka's Drug War is an ongoing anti-drug trafficking operation conducted by the Sri Lanka Police following directives from the Ministry of Public Security.
History 2023 Beginning on 17 December 2023, the police, Special Task Force and Sri Lanka Army carried out islandwide raids and military-backed crackdowns against drug trafficking, with 38,525 suspects being arrested as of 17 January 2024. Authorities seized hundreds of kilograms of illegal drugs, valued at approximately 4.7 billion Sri Lankan rupees. Then-incumbent Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles stated that crime rates across the country fell by 17% within the first month of the operation.
On 25 December 2023, underworld figure Don Indika alias ‘Manna Roshan’ and his accomplice were killed during a clash between two rival underworld gangs.
2024 On 18 January 2024, a lorry driver was shot and killed by a plainclothes police officer during a stop-and-search in Narammala.
On 22 January, five people were shot dead by drug traffickers near the Beliatta exit of the Southern Expressway, including leader of the Our Power of People's Party Saman Perera.
On 30 March, notorious drug trafficker “Location Kudu Malli” was arrested by the Badalgama Police and was caught with 6,120 milligrams of drugs.
2025 On 11 February 2025, convenor of the Nawa Sinhale National Movement Dan Priyasad was arrested and remanded by police for an investigation over an alleged incident of forcing the Nan Eriya Police OIC not to arrest a drug trafficker in 2024.
On 19 February, notorious drug trafficker and organised criminal "Ganemulla Sanjeewa" was shot dead at the Aluthkade Courts Complex by an assailant disguised as an attorney.
2026 Between 5 and 6 July, a prison riot at Negombo Prison, an incarceration facility managed by the Department of Prisons, leaves around 25 people dead and over 100 injured.
On 2 September, a joint US-Sri Lanka operation has seized approximately one tonne of methamphetamine, which Sri Lanka's Minister of Public Security, Ananda Wijepala, said came mainly from Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Human rights violations Operation Yukthiya has notably drawn criticism from the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, and various other human rights groups, who have expressed concerns over the mass arrests and potential human rights violations. Tiran Alles dismissed criticisms and reaffirmed his commitment to the operation.
See also Human rights in Sri Lanka
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