Smuggled cigarettes seized

YASARATNE GAMAGE

The Customs Department seized a stock of smuggled cigarettes valued at Rs 40 million from a container at the Sri Lanka Ports Authority yard in Peliyagoda, Deputy Director of Customs Department Athula Lankadeva stated.

Customs officers had been vigilant of some businessmen over their suspicious imports. Last Saturday, they had stopped the clearance of a certain container with nobody claiming ownership. The officers had managed to find the stock of cigarettes among costume jewellery and paper material hidden in the container.

The smuggled stock of cigarettes had been brought from Dubai. No person or persons has been arrested in this connection. Investigations are still in progress, Lankadeva said.