A 32-year-old man has been arrested with more than 56 litres of illegal liquor during a police raid in Negombo, Ada Derana reports.
Police said the suspect was apprehended on Monday evening (July 20) in the Dalupotha area of the Negombo Police Division following a tip-off. The operation was carried out by the Negombo Divisional Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB).
Officers recovered 56 litres and 250 millilitres of illegal liquor packed into 75 bottles, according to police. The suspect, a resident of the Kochchikade area, was taken into custody at the scene.
Negombo Police are conducting further investigations into the incident.
Illegally distilled liquor — locally brewed spirits produced and sold outside the licensed excise system — remains a persistent target of enforcement operations across the Western Province, particularly in the coastal belt around Negombo. Authorities periodically raid illicit brewing and distribution networks, which evade excise taxes and quality controls and are frequently linked to wider law-enforcement concerns in the area.
