Nuwara Eliya Magistrate Promodaya Jayasekara recently imposed a fine of Rs. 40,000 and a six-month prison sentence suspended for two years on a trader for attempting to sell 293 smuggled cigarettes for which taxes and dues had not been paid, Sri Lanka Customs sources said.
The detection was made during a raid conducted by the Special Task Force in Nuwara Eliya town led by STF OIC IP Piyalal Koddithuwakku.
Smuggled cigarettes are a huge revenue loss to the Sri Lankan government, with the loss incurred in 2019 alone reaching a staggering Rs. 21 billion with approximately 740 million illicit sticks being smuggled into the country last year.
Law enforcement authorities have recently focused their attention on fighting the smuggled cigarette trade with more than 2,000 raids by the Police, STF, Customs and Excise Department last year confiscating in excess of 24 million smuggled cigarettes.
The smuggling of cigarettes in Sri Lanka has been linked to a network of prominent businessmen with links to organised crime, Customs sources said.
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