Hooch den in brick partitioned secret chamber raided in Aluthgama

By Kurulu Koojana Kariyakarawana

The police in Aluthgama made a startling recovery yesterday when they raided an illicit liquor manufacturing plant that had been carried out inside a secret chamber of a place used to collect toddy with an Excise license.

The Kalutara Division Vice Squad on information raided a compound in Welipitiya area, which had been carried out as a toddy collection point. The owner of the place who has an Excise license delivers the collected toddy to a nearby distillery to manufacture liquor.

The police however, searched within the compound and found a suspicious looking section of it partitioned with brick walls with large pipes coming in and out of it.

The authorities demolished one of the brick walls to discover several huge tanks linked with pipes and pumps that were containing over 
27, 000 litres of Kasippu and Goda (semi brewed spirits).

The owner of the compound had discreetly carried out an illicit liquor manufacturing plant within his toddy collection point for a long time and had distributed the spirits to Aluthgama and Benthara area.

The police seized large tanks, water pumps, ammonia and other equipment used to brew the illicit spirits. Two suspects who were taken into custody from the place were to be produced before Kalutara Magistrate’s Courts.

State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya told the Parliament recently that the thriving illicit liquor industry is having a heavy toll on the country’s Excise revenue and the economy.