News
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TEA
AND LITTLE SYMPATHY Less than 24 hours later, the empty 20 ft container was found abandoned in Padukka, close to Horana. More than Rs. 500,000 worth of tea had been stolen. The driver and cleaner had been forced into a van and later pushed out of the vehicle a few kilometres away from the place of abduction. This
incident was just one of the many “tea crimes” being
investigated by the Police and the Colombo Crime Division (CCD).
Many of the incidents go unreported as the owners of tea factories,
transporters and brokering firms are well aware that reporting such
incidents would be a futile exercise. Other
methods including purchasing of low quality tea or refuse tea from
factories and adulterating them are among the common practices. This
stock of substandard tea was estimated to be around Rs. 4 million. Former Provincial Council Minister, Mohamed Thaha Mohamed Ameen, whose bullet riddled body was found at Malalasekara Mawatha, Colombo 07 last Saturday, had allegedly been implicated in exporting substandard tea, The Sunday Times learns. A suspected contract killer known as Faji now in remand custody has claimed that the ex-provincial council minister was responsible for arranging contracts for the killing of two private sector tea executives, say detectives probing the multi million tea racket. According to police, Faji had subcontracted the killings to two of his colleagues, one of whom is already in custody. Their mission had allegedly been to kill Rajiv Bodhidasa at Nawala, Rajagiriya in November 2003 , and three weeks later an attempt had been made on the life of the Managing Director of Imperial Tea exporters Jagath Karunaratne who was injured in the attack,” says SSP Lugoda. As police were in the process of gathering information, regarding the killing of Mr. Bodhidasa, SSP Lugoda had received a call from a close associate of Mr. Ameen’s brother who offered to produce the ex-provincial council minister to make a statement to the police. The offer was turned down by the CCD as they were collecting more evidence about Mr. Ameen’s alleged involvement in the killing of Mr. Bodhidasa, the son of a former Chairman of the Tea Board and the attempted killing of Mr. Karunaratne. Meantime,
Mr. Ameen obtained anticipatory bail from the Maligakanda Magistrate
Courts believing the police were on the verge of arresting him. One
of the men who had allegedly undertaken the contract from Faji,
and who had been arrested by the Maradana police in connection with
another case had reportedly confessed to police about his involvement
in both shootings. According to investigations, Mr. Bodhidasa had been first offered money and when the offer had been turned down, threats followed. Eventually the contract killer got him at the Cycle Bazar shop at Nawala, Rajagiriya where he had gone to purchase a cycle for his two-year-old son. Police were on the trail of Mr. Ameen for his involvement in the production of substandard tea. At least two of his factories were ordered to suspend production as they had failed to meet the minimum required standards set by the Tea Board. Mr. Ameen, a strong SLFP member and a close associate of former Deputy Defence Minister, Anuruddha Ratwatte went on to purchase the Blue Field estate, Ramboda, formerly owned by a close relative of CWC leader Arumugam Thondaman. The
factory was bought two years ago, and was later modernized with
a shopping complex, internet café, and a tea museum to attract
foreign and local tourists. Mr. Ameen had even bigger plans of turning
it into a tourist destination by introducing cable cars at the time
he was brutally gunned down. Last Friday Mr. Ameen had arrived for
Jumma prayers at the Katukithula mosque from his estate. He was
“abducted” soon after prayers. Mr. Ameen’s brother M.T.M. Rauf, a Colombo based businessman told The Sunday Times they had been persuading the police to hunt for the vehicle in which the abductors had arrived, but little had come out of it. However, police maintain they are still looking for the van bearing number 58- 2178 which was reportedly involved in the abduction. Police claim the registered owner of the vehicle Adikari Mudiyanselage Ariyapala, in Welipillewa in the Gampaha district was not contactable at the address and they were still on the look-out for him. “We
have appointed two teams to investigate these killings,” SSP
Lugoda said. Recycling
bad tea But many manufacturers sell the substandard samples in the open market because the reprocessing is a costly exercise. Racketeer businessmen who buy substandard tea mix it with refuse tea and packet the adulterated product in unprinted paper bags. The garden mark, giving details of the estate, brand and quantity, is then imprinted on these bags, which are similar to 50 kg cement bags. Some
of these stocks are introduced back to the auction through illegal
means or find their way into containers ready for shipment (Several
containers with substandard tea ready for shipment have been detected
in recent times). Chronology
of a killing 2.20 p.m. – Mr. Ameen leaves the mosque in his land cruiser bearing No. 65-3636. He is accompanied by his driver, nephew and accountant . He is heading back to the estate. 2.25 p.m. – Half a kilometre away from the mosque a white Dolphin van with tinted glass bearing 58-2178 obstructs the vehicle of Mr. Ameen. The scene is witnessed by B.M. Marzook Deen, a superintendent of Blue Field Estate, Ramboda who is travelling in a vehicle behind Mr. Ameen. A person dressed in Police uniform gets off the van and orders other vehicles to pass. Accordingly Mr. Deen’s vehicle passes Mr. Ameen’s assuming that a Police officer known to Mr. Ameen had stopped him. 2.30
p.m. Mr. Deen looks back and realises that Mr. Ameen’s vehicle
is not following. He directs the driver to turn round and proceeds
to the place where the vehicle was stopped. When he gets there both
vehicles are missing. Mr.
Fazi gives chase to the vehicle, but loses track at Warakapola. 3.30
p.m. Mr. Rauf visits Mr. Moulana’s office at Bambalapitiya.
He stays there for six hours making calls to the CCD trying to obtain
information about the disappearance about his brother Ameen. 10.30 p.m. A complaint is lodged by Mr. Marzook at the Gampola police station. Saturday
July 09 6.00 a.m. Mrs. Ameen receives a call at her Bagatale road Colombo 3 residence, from the Cinnamon Gardens police station. She is told to call over at the police station. Around the same time Mr. Rauf also receives telephone calls about the incident. 6.30 a.m. The victims are identified by their family members Bigger
fine for tea crime The
move follows the increasing number of cases related to theft of
tea leaves, transport of illegal tea and the production of substandard
tea, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tea Board Niraj De Mel told The Sunday
Times. Mr.
de Mel said substandard tea was reaching the export market and this
was a blow to the country’s long standing reputation for quality
tea. He said malpractices were occuring at the pre-auction and shipment
stages. He said earlier there was a limit on the number of kilograms which could be transported, and the relaxation of this regulation had led to malpractices. |
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