Expired vitamins dumped in the ocean

• Volunteers discover more than 200 bottles in Wattala

By Kalani Kumarasinghe  

More than 200 bottles containing expired vitamins have been found washed ashore by a group of community volunteers in Wattala. The bottles containing Vitamin C supplements were collected during daily beach clean-ups carried out at the Preethipura beach,Wattala over the last few days by volunteers of the Clean Ocean Force.  

  The drugs which expired in May 2023 according to the label on the bottles, bear the brand name of Indian pharmaceutical manufacturer Sain Medicaments Private Limited. According to the company’s website, the Hyderabad based pharmaceutical manufacturer distributes its products in Sri Lanka.   

However, Clean Ocean Force, the organization which mobilized the volunteers in Wattala said that the drugs are believed to have been smuggled to Sri Lanka and later dumped in the ocean. Speaking to the Daily Mirror, the organization said it is trying to track down the local distributor of the particular brand of supplements
 in Sri Lanka.