Customs slaps highest fine of Rs. 660 m on two persons illegally importing fags

Two persons charged with illegally importing a container full of cigarettes were slapped with a fine of Rs. 660 million by the Department of Customs. This was the largest fine imposed by Sri Lanka Customs in its history and the two businessmen who were unable to pay the said amount were remanded for two weeks by the Colombo Magistrate Court.

The container full of illicit cigarettes contained over 4.5 million sticks valued at Rs. 115 million and was shipped to Sri Lanka under the guise of importing furniture. The two businessmen are residents of Naaththandiya and each received a fine of Rs. 330 million.

The container was seized on Thursday 4 April in Colombo by the Director of Customs Revenue Monitoring Unit Mali Piyasena and investigated by Deputy Director J.P. Chandraratne, Custom Superintendent J.A.S Jayakody and Assistant Custom Superintendents Sagara Mahanama and Lal Weerakon. Piyasena stated that this was the largest stock of cigarettes seized by Customs in the recent past and the first time such a large fine was imposed by the Department.

In 2012, the Department of Customs seized over 56 million illegal sticks valued at over Rs. 1.35 billion. In the first four months of 2013, the department has already seized over 26 million illicit sticks smuggled into the country. Sri Lanka remains a lucrative destination for smugglers, which could result in significant losses to Government revenue.