News
Artificial toddy racket sweeps western, southwestern coastal areas
A thriving ‘artificial’ toddy racket continues to result in the government losing millions of rupees in tax revenue while also seriously endangering public health.
By mixing a small quantity of natural coconut toddy with water, sugar, yeast, ammonia and salt, the racketeers produce a large quantity of artificial toddy. The racket is widely prevalent in the Kalutara and Puttalam districts, according to sources.
Two recent incidents highlight the serious nature of the racket. One was the seizure of 30,000 litres of artificial toddy by the Police Special Task Force (STF) this week during a raid on an illicit distillery in Maravila. The second was the brutal assault of a provincial correspondent of our sister newspaper, Lankadeepa and his wife last week by a group of alleged artificial toddy racketeers after he wrote a series of exposés on the illegal toddy trade.
As the market for toddy increases, unscrupulous toddy manufacturers are selling more an more such artificial toddy to distilleries, taverns and toddy bottling plants. There have been allegations that even some of the main distilleries in the country are involved in the racket and were using artificial toddy to distill spirits, thereby bringing various health hazards to innocent consumers.
Amid these concerns, the STF has been working aggressively to crack down on the artificial toddy racket. STF Chief M.R. Latiff told the Sunday Times that the racket was “an extensive problem.” He said the situation worsened during holiday seasons such as Christmas when demand was at its peak. “The 30,000 litre stock we found in Maravila was being kept for distribution for Christmas,” he revealed.
Noting that the racket was mostly spread along the western and southwestern coast, the Senior Deputy Inspector General (SDIG) said they had accordingly utlised their resources along these areas.
“For the past three months, we concentrated on areas such as Kalutara, Aluthgama and Beruwala. Now, the racket has diverted to areas along the coastline of Negombo, Kochchikade, Maravila and Chilaw and we are conducting raids in these areas,” he added.
Despite the best efforts of the authorities, the racket continues as it has political patronage, claimed Suresh Wijaya Rangana, National Organiser of the Independent Media Foundation of Kalutara. “There aren’t enough coconut trees to meet the demand so they turn to making artificial toddy. This is an extensive racket that is also a tax fraud running into millions of rupees. However, it is difficult to say how much revenue is being lost since we really don’t know how much artificial toddy is being produced.”
Explaining how the racket works, Mr Wijaya Rangana said if, for example, the toddy manufacturer obtained 250 litres of natural toddy, he would mix that with 1500 litres of artificial toddy. “The manufacturer will then sell the total mixture of 1750 litres to a distillery. The distillery knows this but does not care as otherwise, it will have to spend a lot of money importing ethanol to distill spirits,” he noted.
Mr Wijaya Rangana claimed the racket was widespread in the Kalutara district and said the attack on journalist Thusitha Kumara de Silva demonstrated how violent the racketeers had become and how far they would go to silence anyone who exposed their illegal activities. “Journalists in the district are facing death threats from these criminals. The authorities need to take decisive action to stamp this out. Unfortunately, the links between the racketeers, politicians and the underworld are making it difficult to do so.”
The Excise Department has faced severe criticism for allegedly not being proactive enough to take action against the racketeers and even for turning a blind eye to it.
Deputy Excise Commissioner Kapila Kumarasinghe noted that those involved were licensed toddy manufacturers. “We are monitoring them, but you cant’ expect the department to keep watch round the clock,” he said, adding that the Excise Department, however, conducted its own raids. Even when police or the STF make raids and arrests, it is the Excise Department that has the power to file legal action in court, he pointed out.
Mr Kumarasinghe claimed the department was levying hefty fines on those found to have been producing artificial toddy. “We label it as a technical crime and the department is empowered to impose a maximum fine amounting to 500 percent of the licensing fee. We are also destroying the artificial toddy that we find. We are taking action,” the deputy commissioner asserted.
With regular raids by the Excise Department, the police and the STF, Mr Kumarasinghe expressed hope that the racket could be checked. The Excise Department has also mobilised 900 officers to engage in special island-wide operations during the holiday season to detect illegal narcotics, liquor and tobacco, he said.