Another container load of ethanol detected

January 7, 2014

By Dasun Edirisinghe

The Customs yesterday detected, at the Orugodawatta yard, another container load of ethanol smuggled into the country in the guise of palm oil from Malaysia.

Customs spokesman and Customs Director (legal) Leslie Gamini told The Island that 80 barrels of ethanol containing 200 litres each were being investigated by the Sri Lanka Customs Revenue Task Force and its Central Investigation Division.

Gamini said that the stock of ethanol imported from the Klang Port of Malaysia was worth Rs. 3.2 million, but the Customs would have been deprived of Rs. 10 million in revenue had it been cleared.

Gamini said that two persons had already been arrested in connection with importing the container which reached the Colombo port on December 02. "It was imported under a company supposedly situated in Kotahena, but there was no such company at the given address," he said.

Gamini said that the rubber seal and signatures on documents also had been forged and falsified documents stating that they paid Rs. 1.8 million as Custom duty had been submitted.

Investigations are continuing with the detained container and the suspects, he added.

The Customs detected 10 containers of ethanol, imported illegally last year – two in April and Eight in December.

Meanwhile, the JVP accused government politicians of being behind the illegal ethano imports.

JVP Propaganda Secretary Vijitha Herath told The Island that according to the Customs Investigation Report on eight ethanol containers clearly stated that Puttalam District MP Arundika Fernando called his cousin brother, a Director of Customs, to release the containers with 74, 480 litres of Ethanol.

He said that MP Fernando also told in a newspaper interview that he knew that government politicians were backing not only the illegal import of ethanol but also drugs. "We asked him to reveal the names of those politicians," Herath said.

The Gampaha District MP said that the government should take immediate action to stop the use of political influence to clear such illegal cargo.