Booze ban broken, but no drunkards

Liquor costing Rs 300 a bottle had reportedly been sold for Rs. 1,000 a bottle during the Vesak week in the Kandy area when there was a ban on such sales throughout the island, but there were no drunken men in public places, police said.

Detections of various offences had been made by Sub Inspector Lalith Dharmasena and his team of officers from various parts of the Kandy district.

The Kandy Vice Squad had detected around six cases of unauthorized sale of liquor around Kandy and the Range Vice squad around ten cases of the same offence during the New Year festivities.

There had been six detections of unauthorized sale of liquor in Pussellawa area detected by the Kandy Range Vice Squad. Three cases of heroin possession and three cases of smoking cigarettes in public places were also detected.

Eighteen persons are to appear before the Kandy Chief Magistrate on May 9 in this connection. Meanwhile Kandy was free of drunkards in public places during the National New Year and those who misbehaved during the festivities after consuming liquor were also minimal. No detection of such misbehaving had been recorded by the Police.

This is the first time in the recent past that Kandy town was free of drunken men during the festive season and Vesak.