A group of Navy personnel engaged in a search operation today (March 29) along the coastal belt of Mannar, discovered more than 1000kg of beedi leaves floating in the sea.
According to the Navy, the beedi leaves which were concealed in 33 large parcels amounted to 1456kg in quantity. Officials believe attempts were being made to illegally smuggle the beedi leaves in to the country by concealing the leaves in packages and allowing it to float along the coastal belt undetected.
The packages of beedi leaves are to handed over to the Jaffna Customs office.
The floating packages of beedi are the second instance this month. This week personnel attached to the North-Western Naval Command seized 1232.5 kilograms of beedi leaves which were found floating in the seas off Udappuwa.
According to the Navy this year alone there have been eight attempts to smuggle beedi leaves into the country and upto date nine individuals have been arrested.
The total amount of beedi leaves smuggled into the country at present stands at more than 8000kg, the Navy said.
Former Chairman of SriLankan Airlines, Nishantha Wickramasinghe, arrested on allegation of corruption by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has been remanded until July 1 by the Colombo Magistrate court.
Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Stabilization and NPP National List MP Harshana Suriyapperuma who is tipped to be named the next Finance Ministry Secretary resigned from Parliament today.
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