A consignment of 4.5 million cigarettes worth over Rs.110 million was seized by the Customs yesterday (11), Customs Spokesperson Seevali Arukgoda said.
The consignment which was smuggled in from India was seized at the Grayline Container Yard in Grandpass.
The Customs Central Intelligence Directorate officials have received information from their Indian counterparts about the consignment shipped from Kattupalli Port on the 7th.
The Customs Spokesperson said the consignment had been declared to the Customs as “100% cotton fabrics and plastic buttons” by an importer in Wattala. “There were no such declared items in the container,” he said.
The government would have incurred a loss of tax revenue of Rs.360 million if the authorities missed the detection of the consignment of ‘Manchester’ cigarettes.
Two persons who arrived to get the container released have been arrested by the Customs officials. The Customs Central Intelligence Directorate officials are conducting further investigations.
