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Kandy supermarket owner nabbed in massive foreign liquour racket
A mini supermarket owner in Kandy was taken into custody earlier this week in a massive foreign liquour bust carried out by officials from the regional excise office, senior officials said yesterday.
Excise officials with the seized bottles of liquour
They said the suspect who owns a leading supermarket dealing mainly in farm foods and other related items was nabbed while attempting to sell various brands of imported hard liquor and wines to an undercover Excise decoy.
The man had attempted to sell some 42 bottles of top branded wine and other alcohol products to the value of Rs. 106, 000 when he was apprehended, Central Province Excise Chief Assistant Commissioner Gamini Adhikari told the Sunday Times.
On a subsequent raid on a safe house owned by the suspect 991 bottles of wine, 59 bottles of whisky, six bottles of brandy and nine bottles of vodka valued at some Rs. four million, were seized, he said.
The alcohol supplier was located close to the BIA where the products are bought from passengers arriving to the country mainly from West Asia.
The alcohol was later transported to Kandy concealed in vehicles carrying fruits, vegetables and other items, Mr. Adhikari said.
He added that the suspect had been in this illegal trade for the past five years and was busted earlier this year while trading in alcohol during the annual Esala Perehera.
“We had the man under surveillance for nearly a month and got the breakthrough when the suspect was persuaded to agree to a sale to an Excise Inspector who was deployed as a decoy”, he added.
According to investigations the suspects delivered wine and alcohol products in bulk to up market hotels, restaurants and a few known individuals at cut-rate prices.
According to senior Excise officials most of the foreign liquor products are smuggled into the country concealed in containers carrying other merchandise while the remainder is smuggled through the BIA.
They said hundreds of individuals are believed to be involved in the illegal sale of foreign liquor throughout the country and tracking them down was an uphill task.
Meanwhile the newly appointed Excise Chief L.K.G. Gunawardene has ordered a crackdown on the transportation and sale of foreign liquor products as large stocks have flooded the open market, depriving the state of billions of rupees in vital revenue, the officials added.
The officials added they would be extra vigilant especially during the upcoming Christmas season followed by the New Year.
The detection in Kandy was carried out by Assistant Commissioner Gamini Adhikari assisted by Excise Superintendent (SP) Anura Abeykoon, Chief Inspectors (CI’s) S.I. Ramanayake and Mahindra Jayasinghe and along with Inspectors (IP’s) T. Wijeygunawardene, A.M. Somaratne, D.S. Ranaweera, A. Abeysekera and W.P.A. Jayaratne under the directions of Excise Commissioner L.K.G. Gunawardene.