EXCISE BUSTS BIA DUTY FREE LIQUOR SELLING RACKET

Amajor racket of selling smuggled imported spirits from the duty free shop of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) for cheaper rates was busted by the Excise Department sleuths yesterday and seized a stock of whiskey worth over Rs.340,000.

Colombo Excise Station officials on a tip-off commenced an investigation to arrest the main operative of a racket that had been functioning for some time to sell smuggled out imported spirits from the BIA duty free shops.

The sleuths arrested a man who was operating from outside the airport who was said to have taken orders for the purchasing of desired types of foreign liquor.

Thearrestedsuspectwas used as a decoy to reach the main culprit of the racket who had access to the duty free shops of the airport at any given time.

The Excise sleuths through the arrested suspect had contacted the main man and had placed an order to buy a stock of imported whiskey stating for an urgent function.

A special team of Excise officials who visited the BIA yesterday met the main suspect outside the airport and received the goods having paid him the due amount for the whiskey.

The 41-year-old main suspect had delivered a stock of 38 Vat 69 Scotch Whiskey bottles, each priced at Rs.4, 500 for a sum of Rs.171, 000.

According to Excise sources the suspect had purchased a bottle of such whiskey for around Rs.4, 000 under the duty free prices. A one liter bottle of the seized brand is currently sold at Rs.9, 000 in local liquor stores.

The preliminary investigations had revealed that the chief suspect had constantly been visiting the BIA and is suspected to have target arriving passengers who do not wish to use their liquor purchasing quota.

His modus operandi was to approach the arriving passengers at the airport in the pretext of another passenger and request them whether he could use their liquor purchasing quota (two liters of spirits per passenger) at the duty free shop.

Likewise, he collects so many bottles from unsuspecting passengers by paying at the cashiers and had arranged a method to get the bulks of bottles being delivered outside the airport with the aid of shop staff or any other official.

The Excise suspects that the suspect had a close link inside the airport for him to carry out the racket under the nose of the authorities.

OIC Colombo Excise Stationchanakananayakkara and Chief Inspector Senaka Silva with Inspector Chinthaka Udapamunuwa and Excise Guards Sampath Liyanage, Nilantha Rajapaksha, Hemantha Dissanayake and Nihal Perera are conducting investigations on the instructions of Assistant Excise Commissioner (Western Province) B. A. Dayaratne and Excise Superintendent Vijitha Gamanayake.

The main suspect will be produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Courts today.