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Babul container seized at Port

by Asanga Warnakulasuriya

The Customs yesterday seized a consignment of babul lying at the Grayline container yard in Grandpass.

The raid was made after the Education Ministry disclosed that schoolchildren were increasingly being exposed to this drug based betel preparation.

A Customs official told the Daily News yesterday that a businessman had tried to clear the 20 feet container with around 420 packets of babul stating that the National Dangerous Drug Control Board (NDDCB) had given the green light to this first consignment.

According to the source, Customs had cleared a babul consignment on March this year on NDDCB recommendations that the Babul does not contain narcotics.

He said the sole authority for clearing such consignments of Customs seizures lay with the NDDCB. However, when Customs referred the matter to NDDCB, the officials had requested a sample from this consignment to investigate whether it contained any addictive ingredient.

Earlier, Customs officials at the Valuation Unit had held the container for an alleged valuation fraud, the source said. Investigations are continuing.

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