The growing number of drug addicts has highlighted the urgent need for stronger rehabilitation programs, with the Rehabilitation Bureau reporting that it can currently facilitate the treatment of nearly 500 individuals, including dozens of women.
At present, three centres—Kandakadu, Senapura, and Vavuniya—operate under the Bureau with a combined capacity of 1,120 people. According to officials, 625 individuals, including 97 women, are undergoing rehabilitation at these facilities. Rehabilitation is carried out under six-month court-ordered programs designed to assist drug addicts in recovery.
The Kandakadu centre, which can house 500 people, currently accommodates 325 individuals, while the Senapura facility has 203 patients despite having capacity for 500. The Vavuniya centre, exclusively for women, can accommodate 120 and is nearing full capacity.
Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Bureau, Brigadier P.P. Priyalal, has urged the Ministry of Justice and National Integration to direct more detainees from state institutions to these centres in order to reduce pressure on prisons.
Statistics reveal the scale of the drug problem: in 2025 alone, police conducted 164,785 raids, seizing 17,647 kilograms of narcotics and over 3.5 million pills. More than 164,000 people have been arrested in connection with trafficking.
Confiscated substances include heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine, hashish, cocaine, and other illicit drugs, underlining the extent of drug abuse and trafficking in the country.
