The Prevention of Organised Crimes Bill, drafted by a secretive police-heavy committee without public consultation, was approved by cabinet this week.
The bill's in such broad and sweeping ways that anti-terror laws “actually look like child's play”, said Bhavani Fonseka, a human rights lawyer. She called the bill a "super law" because of how it expansively defines “serious crimes” to expand the state’s discretionary powers. If the bill passes, the Public Security Ministry secretary can detain someone for a year at the stroke of a pen.
Police have long claimed gaps in the law make it difficult for them to tackle organised crime. Using existing laws, they struggle to “establish conspiracy of higher ups” like drug dons, said a state prosecutor.
The government also defended the bill saying it allows the police to prevent organised crime without resorting to the Prevention of Terrorism Act. Addressing Parliament in June, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake criticised the PTA, saying its provisions were too broad. Instead an organised crime bill, containing definitions specific enough to target organised crime, would be brought to Parliament. “If the definition goes into other domains we will stop,” he said, welcoming debate on the draft bill.
An expert committee, appointed by Harshana Nanayakkara, the justice minister, started drafting the bill in the first half of 2025. Based on this draft, the cabinet instructed the legal draftsman to prepare a draft bill in March. The cabinet paper was put up by Nanayakkara and Ananda Wijepala, the public security minister, under whom the police falls.
Elusive expert committee
The expert committee’s membership isn’t public. The Examiner tried to confirm who sat on the committee by contacting the Justice Ministry, Public Security Ministry, police, and other agencies. All of them were unwilling to provide the list.
However, it became clear that the police played a leading role. Shani Abeysekara, the DIG in-charge of the CID, was in the expert committee in its early days. He wasn’t directly involved afterwards, but his department’s officers continued to be involved in it, said Abeysekara.
“I know without the CID they wouldn’t be able to come up with all these, because they are the people who have to confront all these difficulties,” said another senior police officer. The Probation Department, Dangerous Drugs Control Board, Attorney General’s Department, and Government Analyst’s Department were also involved in the process, he said.
Ravi Seneviratne, the Public Security Ministry’s secretary, pointed to Ajith Rohana, a retired high ranking lawyer-police officer, as playing a key role. Top lawyers from the Attorney General’s Department were also involved.
In March, the government endorsed the long-standing police view that gaps in the law make it difficult for them to tackle organised crime. An Attorney General’s Department prosecutor explained that they rely on the dangerous drugs ordinance or the anti-money laundering act to try and convict crime rings. But those laws aren’t good enough to convict ring-leaders, and a law is needed to “establish conspiracy of higher ups”, he believes.
Definition of the bill
The bill seeks to “give effect to” the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime. The convention seeks to “promote cooperation to prevent and combat transnational organized crime”.
According to the convention, an organised crime involves more than three criminals who are involved in committing “serious crimes” as defined in the convention.
