Excise bares thriving liquor business during Perahera

Rasika Somarathna

KANDY: Excise sleuths carried out 246 successful raids busting several lucrative illicit liquor rackets, during the concluded Esala Perahera season in Kandy.

The Government imposed a liquor ban in Kandy from August 13 to 29 to coincide with the Esala Perahera.

Accordingly, the Excise Department took a stringent approach to bust illegal rackets as well as liquor traders who abused the provisions in their Excise license, a Department spokesman said.

According to sources in the area there had been a thriving illicit liquor trade in the area during the Esala Perahera season with a large number of local and foreign tourists visiting the city.

In the course of these raids, Excise officers had busted 26 illegal breweries, 84 large-scale distributing centres and 62 illegal toddy outlets while making 44 arrests for possession of Cannabis.

They had also seized 2,520 litres of illicit liquor and 129 bottles of foreign liquor together with a van which was transporting liquor to the Peradeniya University Sports Club.

According to an Excise spokesman, the Commissioner General of Excise Parakrama Bandara Ekanayake has ordered the sealing of 15 outlets which sold liquor during the prohibited period, while another 12 outlets had been fined a total sum of Rs. 12.75 million for abusing provisions in their liquor licences.

The arrested are to be produced in Court shortly sources said. The raids were conducted by Colombo Special Unit and Officers from the Kandy Department lead by the Superintendent Upul Seneviratne on the instructions of Commissioner General of Excise Parakrama Bandara Ekanayake.