20ft container seized with illegally imported ginger, black gram, palm sugar

The officers of the Sri Lanka Customs Preventive Division seized a 20-foot container with dried ginger, black gram and palm sugar while being attempted to smuggle into the country, Customs Deputy Director (Legal) and Media Spokesman Sudattha Silva said.

He said the container was declared to customs as 23,150 kg of horse gram.  The dubious container was freighted from India by a Colombo-based businessman on September 12.

The container was lying at the RCT Container Yard in Orugodawatta. However, during the customs investigations, the officers found 2,474 kg of dried ginger, 2,465 kg of black gram and 248 kg of palm sugar, he said. 

The dried ginger, black gram and palm sugar fall under restricted imports category, were found hidden in bags similar to those of horse gram, the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, 18,000 kg of horse gram too were found among the other restricted imports, he said. Mr. Silva said the market value of the total shipment is estimated at Rs. 6,417,467.

If this illegal import was successful, the government would have lost Rs. 1,838,636 payable as import taxes. 

Further investigations are being carried out by a team of Customs Officers of the Preventive Division headed by Chief Assistant Preventive Officer Aruna Shantha, on the instructions of Chief Prevention Officer Senaka Arawupola. 

Actionsl will be taken to hold a Customs Inquiry and to forfeit the shipment and impose a further forfeiture or a penalty on the persons responsible, the spokesman added. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)