• Rehab CG’s Office probe finds 
• Awaits Justice probe recommendations

The probes conducted by the Office of the Commissioner General (CG) of Rehabilitation into the recent events that caused tense situations in the Kandakadu Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre have found the existence of control and power-related issues inside the centre among detainees.

This was revealed by the CG of Rehabilitation, Major General Darshana Hettiarachchi, who explained that in addition to persons addicted to drugs who are genuinely in need of assistance, there are people inside the centre who are in fact drug dealers who were sent there by way of magistrate’s court orders. Noting that these drug dealers seek to gain a certain power or dominance inside the centre, he told The Daily Morning that it has created issues.

“Their situation is different from mere drug users who are mostly harmless. These drug dealers are thugs, and they seem to be trying to form gangs and control the climate inside the centre. Similar to prison gangs that are trying to get inmates with less power to follow and serve those with power, these drug dealers seem to be trying to create such a situation inside the centre. When there are two-three such groups, it causes conflicts.”

Moreover, Hettiarachchi added that the Justice Ministry-level probe into the tense situation inside the centre is yet to present its findings, and that necessary action would be taken once its findings are also received.

After a clash occurred at the centre earlier this month, a number of its inmates went missing.