The Hon. Harshana Nanayakkara, Attorney-at-Law
Hon. Harshana Nanayakkara stated that Government Analyst reports are essential in drug cases to establish the substance, quantity, and scientific composition required to prove offences beyond reasonable doubt, while field tests are only preliminary. He acknowledged problems in the current process and said steps would be taken to address them. He added that recent arrests increasingly involve large quantities of drugs, while persons found with under one gram are generally granted bail quickly by courts.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Member, we obtain GA reports not only to distinguish cannabis from heroin, but also to determine quantity and scientific composition. Without that, one cannot prove a case beyond reasonable doubt. Field tests may give police a general idea, but ultimately the GA report is essential. As you said, there is a problematic situation, and we will take all necessary steps to resolve it.
¶ 02 Recently, not only users and small-quantity possessors but also persons with 7, 8, 10 or even 15 kilograms have been arrested. Those are being detected now. Only a small fraction are mere users; where the amount is under one gram, courts generally grant bail quickly. The bulk involves larger quantities handled by major operators.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Thursday, 24 July 2025 ·No. 1754026625097211 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Harshana Nanayakkara, Attorney-at-Law. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 24 July 2025. No. 1754026625097211. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/18507