Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake has admitted that members of parliament and cabinet are directly linked to underworld figures running the island’s sprawling criminal and drug networks.
Speaking at the relaunch of the Kadawatha–Mirigama section of the Central Expressway, Dissanayake revealed that recent investigations had exposed how politicians were entangled with a group of suspects arrested in Indonesia, who he said controlled more than half of Sri Lanka’s narcotics trade and 75% of organised criminal activity.
“They have also provided cash in various ways to our politicians,” Dissanayake declared.
He alleged that some MPs had been making routine collections from underworld leaders.
“Like collecting taxes, some MPs have visited their homes every month to receive money. Some Ministers have brought these people to their residences every month. This information has now come to light,” he said.
Dissanayake warned that the criminal networks were deeply entrenched across the island and pledged “decisive action” to dismantle them.
Despite his promises, Dissanayake’s remarks have raised fresh questions over Sri Lanka’s political establishment, where allegations of collusion between lawmakers, paramilitary groups, smugglers and drug traffickers have persisted for decades.
For Tamils, who have long faced violent crackdowns and mass arrests under the guise of “law and order”, the admission highlights Colombo’s continuing complicity in systemic corruption and organised crime.
