Customs seize ghee imported under guise of lamp oil

A local businessman was arrested with a consignment 1,500 kg of ghee while attempting to smuggle them into the country by declaring them to customs as lamp oil, Customs Deputy Director (Legal) and media spokesman Sudatta Silva said.

He said the 20 foot container was brought in to the country on June 18 by a ship from Kattupalli Port in India for a businessman in Singapore by a local vendor in Colombo 13.

"The local vendor upon the request to release the container, declared the contents to be 120 kg of oats, 2,500 kg of incense powder and 1,600 cans of (Deepam) oil to be used to light lamp. "The value of the consignment was Rs. 3,941,334 and the local businessman had paid Rs. 2,428,252 as import tax to the customs," he said.

The container was inspected at the RCT container yard at Orugodawatta yesterday by customs officers, he said.

During the investigations, the customs officers found  100 cans of finely packed ghee weighing 1, 500 kg.

The market price of the ghee was Rs. 2,842,500 and thus, the government would have lost Rs. 1,320,000 as revenue from custom duty, if this illegal import was successful.

Further investigations are being carried out by the Information and Communication Technology Division of the Sri Lanka Customs.

After the customs investigation, the goods will be confiscated and the suspects will be fined or made to face legal action. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)