13 May 2023 12:00 am Views - 142
By Kurulu Koojana Kariyakarawana
Sri Lanka Customs detected a massive stock of counterfeit cigarettes worth over Rs.85 million, which had been smuggled in from China by a company registered with the Board of Investment (BOI) falsely declared as machinery items.
Customs officials at the Cargo Verification Centre (CVT) in Orugodawatta on suspicion opened up a container to examine, which had been declared as machinery items of a BOI company.
Customs Spokesman Senior Director Sudaththa Silva told the Daily Mirror the officers who examined the container didn’t find any machinery items within but a large metal box. When the authorities cut and opened the metal box, they found the contraband lying inside.
The officials found 556,000 sticks of cigarettes of different brands consisting multiple cartons, which had been valued at Rs.85, 063, 885. The government would have incurred a loss of Rs.75,079,455 (Rs.75 million) in tax revenue if the Customs had missed this detection, the Spokesman said.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspected BOI Company has two directors, a local and a Chinese national.
Senior Director Silva said the Customs Revenue Task Force (RTF) had taken over the inquiries and are investigating to determine the syndicate behind the smuggling attempt. Customs Director General and other top officials are monitoring the investigations.