Customs official held in areca nut scam

An Assistant Superintendent of the Sri Lanka Customs has been arrested after he is alleged to have doctored documents that helped to export 23 containers of dried Indonesian areca nuts under a Sri Lankan label, a senior police official said yesterday.

 

The 29-year-old suspect was picked up from his residence at Waduwa by sleuths from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Monday after a lengthy investigation into his activities that lasted for several months, the official said.

 

Earlier three persons allegedly connected to the scam were arrested in October last year prompting investigators to focus on the Customs official, he added.

 

The suspect was also described as a fresh recruit and who was under probation at the time of his arrest, Customs Spokesman Parakrama Basnayake said.

 

The Customs is to hold a separate inquiry into the case as it is standard procedure, Basnayake added.