Smuggling racket busted

Athapattu BANDARA and Bhakthi MENDIS

Peliyagoda police Wednesday busted an organized racket involving smuggled goods removed from sealed containers transported to the Orugodawatta storage from the Colombo harbour.

Police seized 25,000 vegetable oil cans hidden in Kelaniya area after being smuggled from containers.

The routes of the containers had been changed and directed to byroads on their way to the storage facility, where the oil was removed by making holes in the iron plates secretly without damaging the sealed containers, the police said. The racket had been in progress for a long period and so far no complaints have been lodged with the police as the containers were sealed with proper security measures.

The police had arrested 11 suspects in this connection. They are to arrest nine container drivers. The oil consignment had been imported from Malaysia.