The Ministry of Public Security says that steps have been taken to strengthen operations to combat underworld activities and drug trafficking.

Its secretary Mr S Hettiarachchi mentioned that due to the recent protests in the country and the need to deploy police and special task force officers to guard fuel queues, the focus on suppressing underworld activities has decreased.

However, he said that since the situation is pacifying, special task force officers have been deployed in groups for the relevant operations. Accordingly, some firearms used in murders and crimes have been taken into custody by the Special Task Force soldiers.

The secretary stated that some of the killings that took place in the last few weeks were caused by grudges between several underworld groups and drug trafficking.