News

Magistrate immediately orders to arrest owners of smuggled cars, jeeps

Published

9 months ago

October 3, 2024

editor

Colombo Chief Magistrate Thilina Gamage ordered the Bribery or Corruption Investigation Commission to immediately arrest the suspects involved in the smuggling of 200 luxury cars into Sri Lanka, depriving the government of Rs.5000 million in taxes and defrauding the Customs.

The Chief Magistrate made the order after considering the facts presented by the Intelligence Investigation Unit of the Bribery and Corruption Investigation Commission that only 20 vehicles out of the 200 have been handed over to the government.

The Bribery Commission informed the court that they had recently seized a Mitsubishi jeep worth over Rs.60 million and that the said vehicle was the 20th jeep found among the 200 jeeps smuggled into Sri Lanka.

The Bribery Commission informed court that although the court had ordered on September 18 to hand over the said jeep to the government immediately, the owner of the vehicle had not done so and had hidden the vehicle and this was found by intelligence officers recently. It was also said that after the court issued a warrant to the owner of the vehicle, the vehicle in his possession was seized.It has now been revealed that luxury jeeps and vehicles were imported after 2015 by providing false information to the Sri Lankan Customs and registered as normal vehicles imported before 2005 by entering false information into the data system of the Motor Traffic Department.

The Bribery Commission is investigating to seize the 200 luxury vehicles that have been imported into Sri Lanka in this manner.

After considering the facts presented by the commission, the magistrate pointed out that it is the responsibility of the Commission to immediately seize the cars that were smuggled in as well as arrest the suspects who have defrauded the government on a large scale and present them to court and ordered the arrest of the suspects involved.

(dailynews.lk)

(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by dailynews.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)

News

Harley Davidsons found in Bird Park hideout

Published

7 hours ago

July 13, 2025

editor

Some twenty illegally imported high-end, high-capacity motorcycles—including eight Harley-Davidsons—were recovered during a raid conducted by the Central Anti-Corruption Task Force at a warehouse inside Bird Park, Hambantota.

Police said investigations are continuing to determine who owned the bikes and why they were hidden in the warehouse.

News

Navy nabs 4 suspects with smuggled spices, medicine & cosmetics

Published

11 hours ago

July 13, 2025

editor

During a search operation conducted in the beach vicinity of Devils Point, Kilinochchi on 11 July 25, the Navy took hold of a stock of spices, medicine and cosmetic products which have been made ready for distribution.

The operation also led to the apprehension of 04 suspects and 02 cabs.

The operation was mounted by SLNS Buwaneka in the North Central Naval Command in Loggannawadi, Devils Point.

After searching 02 suspicious cabs in the locality, naval personnel recovered 300kg of cardamom, 260kg of turmeric powder, 273kg of dried ginger as well as medicine and cosmetic products loaded in the vehicles.

And also, 04 suspects in connection to the incident were also taken into naval custody.

The suspects detained by the Navy in this operation have been identified as residents of Erakkandi, Kalmunaikudi, Trincomalee and Puttalam, aged between 39 and 49.

The suspects together with the vehicles and seized items were handed over to the Customs Preventive Office in Katunayake for onward legal action.

News

China, Sri Lanka agree to speed up FTA negotiations

Published

13 hours ago

July 13, 2025

editor

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi yesterday called upon his Sri Lankan counterpart Vijitha Herath to expedite the finalisation of the China-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

Minister Yi was speaking during a bilateral meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where the two sides vowed to deepen their strategic cooperative partnership and enhance practical cooperation.

A China-Sri Lanka FTA, which has been under discussion for some time, is likely to boost two-way trade and also address the imbalance in the trade figures.

Minister Yi also called on both sides to deepen high-quality Belt and Road (BRI) cooperation, jointly implement the two flagship projects – the Colombo Port City and the Hambantota Port, and create new growth points for cooperation in fields such as Green Energy, Digital Economy, modern agriculture and maritime (Blue) economy.

Talking specifically on cooperation in the maritime domain, Minister Yi said such cooperation is mutually beneficial, adding that it does not target any third party and should not be interfered with by any third party.

The Chinese Foreign Minister said the so-called “Indo-Pacific Strategy” pursued by certain parties provokes confrontation and coerces all parties to take sides, which is not in line with the trend of the times and will not be supported by regional countries.

Wang said China is ready to work with Sri Lanka to push the development of the strategic cooperative partnership featuring mutual assistance and ever-lasting friendship between the two countries.

Minister Herath said Sri Lanka attaches great importance to its relations with China, and firmly adheres to the “One China” principle.

Minister Herath said that bilateral cooperation has brought tangible benefits to Sri Lankans and promoted the development and connectivity of the region.

Sri Lanka will enhance practical cooperation with China in areas including trade and investment, infrastructure and ocean, and further deepen the two countries’ strategic cooperative partnership in a number of sectors.

Source – sundayobserver.lk / Xinhua