Debunking Viral Claims Of Fake Heroin Samples in Yukthiya Operation!

දිනපතා සත්‍ය කරුණු දැන ගැනීමට අපගේ WhatsApp සමුහයටමෙතනින් එකතුවන්න.

A significant anti-drug and anti-crime operation named "Yukthiya" is currently in operation in Sri Lanka, led by Acting Inspector General of Police Desabandhu Thennakoon. Despite the operation's commendable efforts, there are misleading claims circulating on social media, aiming to undermine its legitimacy. Let's look at one such claim.

Social Media Posts

Viral social media posts mocking Acting IGP Thennakoon claimed that amidst the illicit drug samples nabbed by the ongoing "Yukthiya" anti-drug and anti-crime mission by the Sri Lanka Police, as many as 790 samples were found to be nothing more than bread floor, as seen below.

Facebook | Archived 

Users commented on it like below.

We decided to do a fact-check on this.

Fact Check:

Origin of the Claim:

The claim circulating on social media appears to stem from a screenshot of Derana Television, purportedly showing that 790 samples of illicit drugs apprehended during the ongoing Yukthiya operation were identified as mere bread floor by government analysts.

Verification of Derana Television Screenshot:

Upon conducting a reverse image search of the screenshot, it was traced back to a video related to Derana Television's morning newspaper reading program on December 5th, 2023. In the program, the presenter referred to a news article in the Sinhala newspaper Aruna, stating that between the 11-month period from January 1, 2023, and November 8, 2023, over 7000 illicit drug samples were sent from around the country by Police and out of which approximately 790 were identified as bread floor and paracetamol capsules by government analysts, and did not include even a minute percentage of illicit drugs. Wellampitiya, Kaduwela, and Maradana were among the Police stations that had forwarded a high number of drug-free samples to the Gov Analysts department.

The Derana Video Clip can be watched below.

Timeline Clarification:

It's important to note that the Yukthiya operation commenced on December 16th, after Acting IGP Deshabandu Thennakoon assumed his duties on November 30th. The heroin sample issue mentioned in the screenshot predates the initiation of the Yukthiya operation and the appointment of Thennakone as acting IGP, and there is no evidence connecting it to the ongoing mission.

Yukthiya Operation Confirmation:

The Yukthiya operation, under the guidance of Acting IGP Deshabandu Thennakoon, is currently ongoing. Multiple reports confirm that significant quantities of drugs and numerous suspects have been apprehended. The Police Media Unit has also stated that there were no fake heroin sample issues connected with the Yukthiya mission so far.

Justice Minister Wijedasa Rajapaksa

Justice Minister Wijedasa Rajapaksa has regularly expressed his concerns over such instances where samples are taken into custody under the precursor of drugs, only later to find out that they consist of bread flour, paracetamol, etc. Here is an instance from Dec 28th, 2023, where he spoke of the need for a system to iron out this recurring issue.

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Conclusion:

The claims circulating on social media, suggesting that the Yukthiya operation is connected to fake heroin samples, are unsubstantiated. The issue of identifying bread floor and paracetamol capsules from heroin samples mentioned in the screenshot predates the Yukthiya operation. The ongoing mission is separate from this issue, and there is no evidence supporting the claim that the drugs seized during Yukthiya are fake.