26 March 2021 09:00 pm
The officers attached to Pettah police division had made a public announcement to caution the public and passengers that they should be extra vigilant of their belongings, as around 8,000 drug addicts are roaming in the busy areas of Colombo city.
They said that several police officers were assigned to make that announcement from today.
Accordingly, the policemen get into the buses and advise the passengers to be extra vigilant of their belonging, as hundreds of drug addicts are roaming in the city.
They said the drug addicts will be looking for valuables such as mobile phones, ladies' handbags, jewellery and men's wallets for easy money.
The public also requested to get collective actions if any case was reported on stealing, snatch theft or incidents of thefts in public transport and to alert the nearest police post. The drug addicts have come to the Colombo city to target the shoppers who throng in the city prior to the upcoming festival season, the police said.
The passengers who use public transport are advised to get luggage tickets before loading their extra luggage in the buses. Many incidents were reported from Colombo city during the last couple of days regarding theft, snatch theft and stealing incidents with valuables worth over Rs.100,000 a day.
Therefore, the public are requested to pay more attention to their personal belongings as the thieves can cut through their bags and backpacks and steal their valuables. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama and Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya)