‘Prison violence sparked by drug lords’

Chamikara WEERASINGHE and Waruna PADMASIRI

Unprecedented level of prison mayhem - including clashes and fire breakouts-at the Welikada Prison was the result of activities triggered by seven or eight drug lords who had become restless over their being unable to smuggle drugs and cell phone sim cards into the prison as they used to, Commissioner of Prisons K. Kodippili told the Daily News when contacted last evening.

Four prison officers suffered injuries during the incident, the Commissioner said. “One of them is in critical condition and is receiving a medical treatment at the Colombo National Hospital.”

Asked how he had got injured, Kodippili said unruly prisoners have attacked the officer with bricks and clubs.

“One convicted prisoner and 25 remand prisoners are also being treated at the hospital,” he said.

Asked about the condition of the the injured prisoners and if any of them had died, Kodippili said none of them had died.

“We visited their wards to see them. They were wounded during the course of action taken to control the situation.”

The prisoners had set fire to the stores and prison’s administrative building. “Damages are yet to be determined,” he explained.

”The dust settled after we talked to those who engineered this riot,” the Commissioner said and added, “Under no circumstances will we give up various preventive strategies taken by us to stop drug trafficking inside the prison.”