The establishment of the National Police Commission (NPC) helped create an environment for the Police to act independently and removed political interference which stood in their way when fighting against drug trafficking, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said.“With the recent large scale drug busts, the country is reaping the dividends of the Government’s initiative in establishing the NPC and enabling the Police to function independently,” the Prime Minister added. While noting that the largest haul of heroin discovered in Sri Lanka was seized from the Kollupitiya area in Colombo on Saturday night in a joint operation conducted by the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) and the Police Special Task Force (STF), the Premier expressed his gratitude to all officers involved in the detection.The Prime Minister was addressing a public gathering following the opening of a new building for the Rivisanda Maha Vidyalaya in Aranayaka on Sunday afternoon. The Premier said that the NPC has brought about a welcome change to the Police Department enabling it to once again maintain a high degree of independence and integrity without becoming subservient to politicians.The Prime Minister identified removing political barriers which stood in the way of the Police when fighting against the drug trade earlier as the main reason for the recent successes in drugs detections. He said that positive results can now be seen from both within Sri Lanka and outside when it came to fight against crime by the Sri Lanka Police. He noted that the government was always working to ensure the well-being of the future generation.