Customs, CTC destroy Rs. 390 Mn worth illicit fags seized from BIA

8 November 2024 10:11 pm Views - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}} 10 Bookmark

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Colombo, November 08 (Daily Mirror) - A large stock of illicit cigarettes seized by the Sri Lanka Customs from the airport, which was worth over Rs. 390 million was destroyed at the Western Power Waste-to-Energy Power Plant in Kerawalapitiya this week.

The Customs authorities with Ceylon Tobacco Company (CTC) officials destroyed about 2.6 million sticks of a range of foreign brands of cigarettes smuggled into the country by passengers coming through the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA).

The BIA Customs officials made a series of detections in the past two months when inbound local passengers returning from Middle Eastern countries tried to smuggle in millions of rupees worth of illicit cigarettes.

A container load of the seized cigarettes were dumped into the garbage incineration plant at the Western Power Plant under the supervision of the Sri Lanka Customs and CTC officials.

Comments - 10

Berty Friday, 08 November 2024 10:24 PM

Why not auction and sell?

1 5

sam Saturday, 09 November 2024 05:45 PM

Yes. It will bring a revenue to the govt!

0 1

Ganesh Friday, 08 November 2024 10:36 PM

Open this market to other players. End this monopoly.

1 9

Lk Friday, 08 November 2024 11:07 PM

Please don’t destroy them but nationalise them and sell them and take the money and put it in treasury or use it for some public work or charity… don’t let them take but use it for some useful things

1 7

Jude Jude Friday, 08 November 2024 11:15 PM

I can't believe why CTC not paying a special levy for Maharagama cancer hospital.!!???

0 11

Hon. Sarneris Saturday, 09 November 2024 05:56 AM

What a waste. They could have re-exported them and made some dollars for the countries coffers.

1 6

Sokrates Saturday, 09 November 2024 08:09 AM

What an idiotic and paradoxical rule. Outbound passengers can buy all brands of cigarettes in duty free shops, but inbound passengers cannot, and are not even allowed to bring 200 cigarettes into the country. You can bring 800 cigarettes into Germany from another EU country, and 400 from countries outside the EU. Many smokers simply don't like the crap that is sold in this country. Moreover, it is counterproductive for the economy to give one company a cigarette monopoly. Monopolies cannot be in the interests of the new government. The import ban was justified by the need to curb tobacco consumption, which is of course pointless and stupid. The real reason is to protect the monopoly of the Ceylon Tobacco Company, which is 84% owned by British American Tobacco International.

1 14

Cecil Hedwige Saturday, 09 November 2024 08:41 AM

Why destroy when the country is bankrupt,they can sell it at a reasonable price and fill the Govt coffers.

1 13

Ahmed Saturday, 09 November 2024 08:54 AM

Unless it is not related to drugs like cocaine, ice, etc govt could have sold this in black market and repay some of loans or make important use

2 5

DOT Sunday, 10 November 2024 08:08 PM

What is the role of CTC up there? Its a government duty.

0 0

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