Customs foil attempt to export copper worth Rs.37.5Mn

By Kurulu Koojana Kariyakarawana   

An attempt to export over eight tones of copper worth over Rs.37.5 million in a container declared as crepe rubber through Trico Logistics yard in Grandpass was foiled by Sri Lanka Customs yesterday.  

Customs Central Intelligence Directorate (CID) officials on information searched a suspicious 20 foot container that arrived at the Customs Export Facilitation Centre at Trico Logistics in Grandpass yesterday morning.   

The container, which was scheduled to depart to China had been declared as 12, 000 kilogrammes of crepe rubber but had actually contained 8, 440 kilogrammes of copper.   

The value of the seized copper consignment is Rs.25 million and the tax revenue the Customs would have lost if went undetected was calculated at Rs.12.5 million, Customs CID sources said.   

The consignment was displayed to the media yesterday afternoon at the Export Facilitation Centre premises and the Customs Spokesperson cum Additional Director General Seevali Arukgoda and Additional Director General Enforcement Wijeratne Bandara inspected the proceedings.   

Customs Spokesperson Arukgoda said the Customs has temporarily restricted exporting copper, since scrap copper is essential for the local copper industry to thrive.   

“There are about 80, 000 persons engaged in the local copper industry and it is essential to retain them within the country. Currently, there is a good market for the scrap copper in countries like China and India and the license of Import and Export Controller is required to export them,” Arukgoda said.  

The Customs arrested the owner of the export business, a half Vietnamese national who would send the goods through another Vietnamese counterpart in China.   

Senior Deputy Director of Customs H M N S Rajaguru and Customs Deputy Director B S R Perera with the team Customs CID Superintendents Y S Wijesinghe, W M M Dharmaratne, Assistant Superintendents S M Anthony, S D Fernando and M J Fernando are conducting investigations on the instructions of Customs Director Central Intelligence Directorate K L D Malwita.