Special offers on imported fags at Dubai duty free prompts smuggling

By Kurulu Koojana Kariyakarawana   

Large quantities of illegal cigarettes worth over hundreds of millions of rupees seized at the Bandaranaike International Airport over the past few weeks, in what seems to be ‘an influx of illegal fags’, are found to be nearing expiry dates, the Daily Mirror learns.   

Contraband of over 20 cigarette detections made in the past eight weeks at the BIA by various agencies including the Police Narcotic Bureau and the Customs were found to be from Dubai and surrounding Middle Eastern countries and are nearing expiration dates.   

Sources of the Sri Lanka Customs units stationed at the BIA told the Daily Mirror that most of these large quantities of detected cigarettes have either expired or nearing expiry with dates not more than two months.   

Suspicions raised as to why a sudden influx of Sri Lankan travellers returning from either Dubai, Qatar or Abu Dhabi bringing along large quantities of foreign made cigarettes amounting to millions of rupees, especially after the conclusion of the Presidential Election.   

A senior detective at the Customs Narcotic Control Unit said that very attractive offers on display for cigarettes at Dubai duty free would have prompted the organised smugglers as well as regular travellers to bring them in quantities to Sri Lanka.   

“When products like cigarettes are nearing expiration dates, the sellers put them on very attractive offers like ‘buy one get one free’ or ‘buy two get one free’, especially at duty free shops. Although, bringing in imported cigarettes is prohibited in the country the travellers tend to try their luck, as the penalty is also not too harsh,” the official said.   

Ceylon Tobacco Company has a monopoly in tobacco and cigarette brands in the country and no foreign made fags are allowed. Large stocks of cigarettes seized by agencies at the airport and other parts of the country are collectively destroyed by the CTC and SL Customs from time to time, as spread of illicit fags will incur a massive loss to the cigarette tax revenue of the country.