Major Duty-Free Liquor Racket Busted

In Luxury Colombo Residence, Over Rs. 7.5 Million Worth of Imported Spirits were  Seized

The Excise Department of Sri Lanka cracked down on a major duty-free liquor smuggling operation yesterday, seizing imported spirits valued at over Rs. 7.5 million from a luxury residence in Colombo as part of the government’s tax week crackdown.

Acting on a tip-off, officials from the Colombo City Excise Office raided a property in the Narahenpita area, confiscating 337 bottles of foreign liquor totaling 337,000 milliliters. A suspect was also apprehended during the operation.

According to Excise sources, the racket involved multiple airport duty-free liquor outlets, where perpetrators diverted duty-free goods and stored them in the Colombo residence before selling them illegally in the local market.

Excise Chief Inspector R. Chinthaka and his team are investigating the case under the supervision of Superintendent Thilak Dissanayake of the Colombo City Office and Assistant Excise Commissioner Jayantha de Silva of the Western Province I.

The arrested suspect was produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate and subsequently released on a fine of Rs. 145,000.