Salt racket busted in Panadura

Kapila Somaratne Panadura Group corr.

Panadura Magistrate Thusara Rajasinghe called for a comprehensive investigation from the Panadura Police Crime Branch into the theft of a stock of salt from the store of the Panadura MPCS Ltd.

Inspector Udayakumara OIC Crimes Panadura Police arrested a manager, an employer of the Panadura MPCS and a private mini lorry and a driver with 1,900 packets of salt stolen from the MPCS last Saturday and produced them in Court. Inspector Udayakumara told Court that it is alleged that salt and other essential goods worth lakhs of rupees were disappearing from the cooperative stores.

However, no investigation was conducted to look into this. Police objected the release the three suspects on bail. Inspector Udaya Kumara told Court, the Manager got down a lorry to the cooperative premises and loaded the stock of salt on false bills.

Later he fled with a lorry load in broad day light. The employees had witnessed the scene, but no complaint was lodged at the Panadura Police.

A Police team that checked the lorry found the stock of salt inside the lorry with the manager and an employee. The driver was also arrested, police said. On Saturday, the suspects were remanded. Inspector Udaya Kumara told Court.

The racket was operating in the cooperative stores for several years, he said.

Vajira Kapisinghe, Attorney-at-Law with Sugath Handunge Attorney-at-Law who appeared for the first and second suspect told Court that there was a leakage of essential goods and other materials of the Panadura MPCS stores running to lakhs of Rupees.

The Magistrate called for a full report of the theft of salt from the Panadura MPCS from the Police and remanded the manager and the employee of the MPCS till January 18. The Court granted Rs. 50,000 bail with Rs. two lakhs personal bail to the lorry driver.

The suspect are K.G. Thilak K. Gratian, Manager and the employees, Waduge Malinger Fernando the driver.