CUSTOMS DIRECTOR APPOINTED FOR

Inquiry has been ordered whether any foul play involved

COCAINE INQUIRY

ADirectorofcustoms Department had been appointed by its chief Chulananda Perera to conduct the internal inquiry on three Customs officials in connection with the sugar container carrying Cocaine that went undetected at the Colombo Port, last week.

Customs Director General had appointed Customs Director in charge of Revenue Task Force (RTF) to conduct the special inquiry that would record statements from three Customs officials including a senior officer who were attached to the Directorate of Central Cargo Examination. The Customs Chief had made the appointment yesterday following a meeting held with the senior officials in the Department on Monday and had instructed the said Director to conduct an impartial inquiry and submit a report soon.

Customs Spokesman DDC Sunil Jayaratne told the Daily Mirror that the new inquiry officer was yet to record statements from the three officers pertaining to the case.

Customs chief Perera ordered to transfer the three officers of the Central Cargo Exchange Directorate to Customs Headquarters Administration wing with immediate effect last week following the recovery of 219 kilos of Cocaine in a large sugar consignment imported from Brazil.

The transferred officers were said to have been in charge of checking and clearing the controversial Cocaine container that arrived at the Rank Container Terminal (RCT) Yard in Orugodawatta couple of weeks ago.

The inquiry has been ordered to determine whether a lapse on the part of Customs officials in charge of checking had made the sugar container proceed undetected or any foul play involved.