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“People like Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, who protect thieves, do not understand the value of public trust. Only we know its value. We challenge those who accused us of container clearance to come forward and file a proper complaint,” Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation Minister Bimal Ratnayake said.
Speaking to the media yesterday (30), he stated that the Customs Department has issued a statement saying that there was no clearance of Governor Hanif Yusuf’s or any of his company’s containers.
“We challenge Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya to file a proper complaint if he can, as it was his MPs who accused Governor Hanif Yusuf.”
“We are saying, if you have any accusations against us, make them properly. Do not spread rumours.Do not say it was on social media or Facebook. Make a direct accusation.”
Meanwhile Customs Media spokesperson Seevali Arukgoda at a press conference yesterday stated that the questioned containers were cleared on January 18, 2025, and it was done under a post-clearance audit without any external influence. He added, “By that morning, around 2900 containers had accumulated in the port.”
Arukgoda further emphasised, “Among these, 2800 containers had been delayed for 7-8 days due to a lack of lorries for transport. The committee reviewed the relevant documents and released the containers under post-clearance audit. No external influence was involved and the committee acted according to the guidelines provided by senior management.”
The questioned containers mainly contained raw materials needed for industries. Media reports claimed that the release was done for a single organization due to political connections, but these allegations are entirely false. None of the containers belonging to that organization were cleared without inspection.
Arukgoda further addressed the accusations by saying, “There were accusations that the containers might contain weapons, gold, or drugs. However, in my 35 years of service, including during the LTTE war, no weapons have been smuggled through containers. There have been no previous instances of gold smuggling through containers, and the majority of the successful drug seizures done by Sri Lanka Customs were based on received intelligence.”
Deneth Sankalana
