Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has launched an investigation into unauthorised access to the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) used by the Police Narcotics Bureau to track multi-day fishing vessels and boats suspected of transporting narcotics.
Police said the system had been accessed using 57 different IP addresses, raising serious concerns that sensitive operational data may have been compromised and potentially leaked to drug trafficking networks.
The VMS plays a critical role in Sri Lanka’s maritime counter-narcotics operations. It enables authorities to monitor fishing vessels suspected of smuggling large quantities of narcotics into the country. In recent years, information obtained through the system has helped the Police Narcotics Bureau, with support from the Sri Lanka Navy, to intercept and seize several major drug consignments at sea.
According to police, intelligence reports indicated that VMS data had been accessed not only by authorised investigators but also by individuals believed to be linked to narcotics networks. The inquiry was initiated following instructions from the Inspector General of Police amid concerns over possible internal or external breaches of the system.
Preliminary investigations revealed that multiple individuals had logged into the VMS through 57 separate IP addresses to obtain sensitive vessel-tracking information. Acting on these findings, further investigations were launched under the direction of the Deputy Inspector General in charge of the Police Narcotics Bureau, Ashoka Dharmasena.
As an immediate security measure, authorities have changed all access credentials to the Vessel Monitoring System to prevent further unauthorised entry. Police said the revised access details have now been provided exclusively to the Deputy Inspector General and the Director of the Police Narcotics Bureau.
The CID investigation is expected to focus on identifying how the breaches occurred, whether internal security protocols were violated, and whether sensitive data was deliberately shared with criminal networks. Officials said further action will be taken based on the findings of the inquiry.
