Seven positive results reported in Kinniya driver drug checks

Seven of 32 drivers screened during a special operation on the Kinniya-Batticaloa main road on the evening of November 12 tested positive for drug use, according to the account of the police operation. The checks were aimed at identifying drug use among drivers, including those operating heavy vehicles and buses.

Those seven were described as four tipper drivers, two motorcyclists and one three-wheeler driver. They should not all be described as bus drivers. A screening result is not a court conviction.

The operation was reported to have been carried out by Kinniya police and the judicial medical unit of Trincomalee Hospital under regional police directions. The National Transport Medical Institute conducted the driver examinations.

Kinniya police said arrangements were being made to produce the seven drivers before court on November 19. That is a planned court step, not confirmation that a hearing has already taken place or a sentence has been imposed.