The Consumer Affairs Authority has raided 471 pharmacies across Sri Lanka in 2026, uncovering illegal practices and securing fines exceeding Rs. 2.2 million in its ongoing effort to protect consumer health.
The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has intensified its enforcement operations against pharmacy violations, conducting raids on 471 outlets islandwide so far in 2026. Between January and June, the authority inspected 362 pharmacies, while an additional 109 establishments were checked during a special operation on August 3 and 4, which identified 86 violations.
The raids revealed widespread breaches of pharmaceutical regulations. Common violations included the storage and sale of expired medicines, failure to display mandatory consumer information, improper record-keeping of prescribed products, and non-compliance with regulations governing medicines, medical devices, and baby products. Inspectors seized substantial quantities of expired pills, injections, syringes, creams, baby products, and pregnancy test kits during these operations.
Magistrate's Courts have imposed fines totalling Rs. 2,269,500 against offending pharmacies based on CAA cases. The authority has emphasised consumer responsibility, urging the public to verify expiry dates and examine product labels before purchase. The CAA has also encouraged citizens to report suspected violations through its consumer hotline at 1977 during business hours, positioning compliance as a shared responsibility between regulators and consumers.
