COLOMBO, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan Police, on Monday said it had launched an investigation into a fresh drug smuggling racket after 17 people were arrested from a hotel in Matara, in southern Sri Lanka on Sunday night.

Police said the 17 had been arrested for having cocaine and other narcotic drugs in their possession.

Those arrested included 14 males and 3 females.

A police spokesperson told Xinhua that the group was taken into custody following a raid conducted by the Anti Corruption Unit of the Matara Police Division.

The suspects will be produced before a local court later on Monday.

Sri Lankan investigators, on instructions of President Maithripala Sirisena, have since January launched a severe crackdown on drug dealers and smugglers, with several arrests being made within the past two months.

Last month, Sirisena said he will impose the death penalty on convicted drug traffickers within the next two months after he vowed to free the country from the drug menace by 2020.