^{File photo: The Sri Lankan army in Jaffna.}

Sri Lanka’s Minister of Agriculture called for further police intelligence officers to be deployed to the already military-occupied Jaffna district, in order to arrest a “gang” that is reportedly extorting local farmers in the region.

According to the Colombo Page,  Mahinda Amaraweera, said that farmers alleged that an extortion gang has been operating in the Jaffna, Kodikammam, and Sinnaveli markets for some time.

The farmers alleged that “the police have not taken any action,” despite the heavy presence of the security forces in the region.

In response, Amaraweera reportedly “instructed the police to deploy intelligence officers and immediately take measures to arrest the extortion gang”.

Tens of thousands of Sri Lankan troops remain stationed across the North-East, which has seen flare-ups of gang violence and criminal activity in recent years.

An associate of the notorious Ava gang, which was responsible for a wave of gang activity in Jaffna, went on to become a candidate with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). During an interview with Ada Derana on 8 February 2019, Arun Siddharthan publicly admitted to being a member of the Ava gang.

The group had been linked to Sri Lankan military intelligence and to senior military officials including the former State Intelligence Service (SIS) Brigadier Suresh Salley.