A container at the Port of Colombo, loaded with brass goods but prepared for export to India as a rice shipment, was due to be opened on Tuesday by police and Customs officers acting on a court order.
The Police Central Crime Investigation Bureau and Sri Lanka Customs were scheduled to carry out the joint inspection on 29 September, Hiru News reported.
How it reached court
The inspection follows an order issued by the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court after facts about the alleged smuggling attempt were reported to the court the previous day, Monday 28 September. The container was located within port premises.
Hiru identifies the officer who confirmed the inspection as Deputy Inspector General of Police Chandana Kodituwakku, in charge of the Central Crime Investigation Division.
What is not yet known
The report gives no value for the consignment, no quantity of brass, no exporter or consignee, and names no suspects. It does not say whether any arrest has been made, or what the declared rice shipment was supposed to contain.
Nor does it state why the goods were misdeclared. Brass and rice attract different treatment at the border in both countries, and a misdeclaration of this kind can be aimed at duty, at export controls, or at concealing the metal’s origin — the reporting does not establish which, and no official has said.
Ada Derana also filed on the container investigation, but the site was unreachable at the time of writing, so its account could not be verified or used.
The outcome of the inspection had not been reported when this article was published.