Sri Lanka, Feb. 23 -- The rise in underworld criminal activity at present is the result of prolonged political protection afforded to the underworld by previous political elites, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha told a press conference in Colombo yesterday.

He said none of these underworld criminals are getting any support from the current administration. Legal action against them is being taken swiftly. What is now unfolding, he said, is the manifestation of internal conflicts among underworld criminal leaders.

He said there were several complications regarding the issuance of firearms to certain persons that had come to the attention of the Ministry of Defence. However, he said that many firea...