Rs.0.78mn worth of foreign fags netted by STF

A large stock of foreign cigarettes worth of Rs.780, 000 smuggled into the country under the nose of the authorities was seized by the Police Special Task Force officials (STF) from Hulftsdorp recently.

STF personnel from the Special Investigation Unit III raided a house in Old Moor Street in Aluthkade and took a resident man into custody along with cartons of a foreign brand of cigarette, which the sale is prohibited in Sri Lanka.

The cartons bearing the brand Manchester contained about 12,000 sticks of such cigarettes, had been valued at the said amount, the STF sources said.

The STF sleuths are conducting investigations on the instructions of its Commandant DIG Waruna Jayasundara.

The arrested suspect had been handed over to the Keselwatte Police for further inquiries, the sources said.