Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe told the parliament yesterday that he will look into the incident of arresting the former commandant of the Special Task Force of the Police, if injustice has taken place. He was taken into custody by the Police. The present government does not approve arresting of any person those who fought against terrorism for the betterment of the motherland.

However the premier recalled the previous government remained silent when Sarath Fonseka who rendered a valuable service to the nation by giving leadership to the Army to defeat terrorism that prevailed for 3 decades was imprisoned. The Premier made these remarks responding to a question raised by parliamentarian Dinesh Gunawardena regarding the arrest of former commandant of the special task force of the police K.L.M.Sarathchandra.

Minister Sagala Ratnayake who also spoke on the occasion said he has been arrested for covering fuel expenses of the jeep used by him from 8th to the 28th of August, which belongs to the government from state expenses. The minister pointed out the government has suffered a financial loss of 140 thousand rupees from this incident. Therefore the arrest was not a politically motivated decision. It is only the implementation of the law.

Meanwhile Minister Sagala Ratnayake further disclosed that a proper programme has been implemented to prevent smuggling drugs into the country. Replying to a question raised by parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake, he added that STF officers have been deployed to assist the Custom officials.

The Minister also pointed out the need of strengthening diplomatic relations to prevent smuggling of drugs to the country. Discussions have already been held with the respective ministers of the SAARC region. A Coordinating Committee has been appointed as a result of it and its office has been set up in Sri Lanka.