Tri-Chapter Mahanayake Theros Denounce Drug Trafficking by Individuals Posing as Monks

During the meeting between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the Tri-Nikaya Maha Sangha on April 28, discussions also focused on proposed amendments to legal provisions, specifically mentioning the Vihara and Devalagam Act, as part of the next steps for the preservation of the Buddha Sasana.

In a new development, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake held a meeting with the Tri-Nikaya Maha Sangha (Mahanayake Theros) today (April 28) at the Presidential Secretariat. The discussion focused on the drug trafficking incident involving monks, ongoing investigations, and the broader drug menace, which the President described as a "national catastrophe," urging stronger collective action with the government's anti-drug program. Separately, Omalpe Sobitha Nayaka Thero, Chief Sanghanayake of Southern Sri Lanka, has called on the Mahanayake Theros to investigate whether the arrested monks were enticed or coerced into drug trafficking. He also urged for the public disrobing of guilty monks currently in remand, with the support of the Inspector General of Police, so they can face legal proceedings as laypersons.

The Mahanayake Theros have urged the government to immediately intervene in the legal provisions for expelling individuals posing as monks from the Sasana.