Cigarettes worth Rs. 205 million

1 February 2011 03:30 pm

The Sri Lanka Customs seized illicit cigarettes worth Rs.205 million collected from airline passengers and also from personnel baggages at ports during the last few months, Customs Deputy Director Sisira De Silva said.

If the seizures had not been made the government would have faced a tax loss including the import duty, of Rs.154 million, he said. 

A total of six million cigarette sticks were found in 34,034 cartons and the cigarettes had been produced in Pakistan and UAE, he said. No suspects have been arrested so far as the importers have used forge Identity cards and addresses when importing the cigarettes, he added.

The contraband was stored in a container for two months and were handed over to the revenue task force and the National Authority for Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) to be destroyed following investigations. The cigarettes were branded as Gold Seal.

Representatives from NATA said the Customs and Excise Department is working together with them to limit the use of illicit cigarettes and a special operation is carried out in the airport to seize them.

Illicit cigarettes play a vital role in the black market of Sri Lanka due to its low price. (Supun Dias)







Pix by Kithsiri De Mel