By Upatissa Pethiyagoda –

Dr. Upatissa Pethiyagoda

Unless the scourge of corruption is at least controlled, if not eliminated, our country is doomed. In the absence of genuine effort, no amount of big talk of “Yahapalanaya”, “Eradication of Beeshanaya and Dhooshanaya”, “Vistas of Splendour,” are all hollow deceptions, and an insult to our collective intelligence. Let us demand that the currently pledged ”System change” is truly meant, and will not merely join the lengthy queue of deceptive treachery.

There is much excitement that at long last, some action will be forthcoming. The early signs are very positive. May this continue as a sustained battle against grave injustice. The people deserve this; and are tired of hoodwinking slogans and pretended “Cleanliness”. Times and moods have changed and the “Aragalaya” was a mild fore taste of what determined and disciplined, massive public protests can do. All beware!

Lee Kwan Yew (LKY), in their journey towards an honorable Singapore, defined honesty as “When your relatives, friends and supporters would be in jail, if they have been less than honest.” I would add that the real test of victory, is when no one will dare to even offer.

Our own Anura Kumara Dissanayake, when heckled for the delay by the NPP, in charging fraudsters, is reported to have declared, “We will surely do so in good time, when we have gathered irrefutable evidence for a successful prosecution. I would only say that when we do so, don’t come whining to us, seeking interference with due legal process. This will not be possible”

All too often narcotics, smuggling and violent crime, are conjoint and( paradoxically), rivals as well. Unsurprisingly so, as all of them are high stake business. Whatever, they are tragically, immensely damaging to societal cohesion, and complicit in ruining the youth. When the Law enforcing authorities and the armed services (mainly the navy), report massive quantities of heroin, amphetamines and other drugs, and illegal substances, by thousands of tablets, and kilograms of powders, one is astonished by the sheer size of the seizures. Reports of estimates of street value of the interdictions are often mind-boggling millions and not infrequently, even in billions of dollars.

Some puzzling questions arise. Since these large consignments, have to be re-packed in miniscule quantities for retail, it will require a huge network of trusted participants. No state entity would be able to achieve anything to match such organizational wizardry.

Considering the extraordinary value of the detections, it is obvious that archaic laws requiring production of suspect materials at trials is in need of revision. Since it is not uncommon for trials to drag on for years before conclusion, attractive opportunities for “recycling” or magical alchemy, that transforms heroin to sugar and marijuana to sawdust, complicated by dubious evaporative losses, are highly suspicious.

With such immense hauls, the costs of primary acquisitions, (mainly in foreign currencies), of such massive acquisition, point to cash movements, that must amount to large scale “Money Laundering”. Good intelligence should allow for good tracking of these “paper trails.”

No supplier of such massive (and high value) contraband, is likely not to demand payment in advance. Who can have that amount of convertible currency in hand? Maybe, we are in for some surprises.

Once all the judicial processes are over, the question of how to get rid of this precious haul, is problematic. It would be ethically and morally wrong to re-export this hazardous materials. The obligatory option of burning seems a shame. Since the value of such captured contraband, is so great, that it may suffice for some debt-ridden countries, to relieve portions of their fiscal deficits.

To this end, could it not be possible to seek International help, say from the United Nations or affluent bodies, to take the burden away from such countries as ours?

Might such a plea be included as the central theme, marking our presence at the forthcoming Sessions of The UN General Assembly? This could be along the lines of our contribution, leading to the UN recognition of “Wesak Poya” as a day of international observance. Many of the countries who are direct sufferers from the Drug Menace, and those sensitive to the need to address such an Important issue, should be happy to be on board.