More illicit hooch found

A suspect has been arrested with 5,575 bottles of illicit liquor bearing counterfeit security stickers that had been illegally stored, police said yesterday. The arrest was made during a joint operation conducted by the Navy and the Mullaitivu STF camp, police said. The suspect, a 43-year-old resident of Mullaitivu, was taken into custody along with the stock of illicit liquor. The raid was launched following intelligence received by SLNS Gotabaya attached to the Eastern Naval Command. During the operation, officers inspected the counterfeit security stickers affixed to the seized bottles of liquor. The security sticker ment tax revenue by enabling authorities to verify that excise duties have been paid on liquor products. In recent months, several raids have uncovered illicit liquor manufacturing operations and counterfeit bottles bearing fake security stickers. On June 28, officers attached to the Western Province North Crime Division raided an illegal liquor distillery on Sudarshanarama Mawatha in Malabe. An army officer was arrested as the main suspect, while five other suspects were taken into custody along with a stock of illicit liquor and equipment allegedly used in its manufacture. Based on the main suspect’s confession, police subsequently carried out a special operation in the Batticaloa area, uncovering further details of the racket. Police suspect that the security stickers used on the counterfeit bottles of liquor had been printed in Chennai, India, and shipped to a local agent in Sri Lanka. They also suspect that ethanol used in the manufacture of the illicit liquor had been obtained with the assistance of the secretary to a prominent politician from Kurunegala. Police said that the investigation was also focusing on whether the security stickers affixed to the counterfeit bottles of liquor had been obtained from the supplier company or from the Excise Department. Preliminary information indicates that while the liquor inside the bottles was counterfeit and of inferior quality, the security stickers themselves may have been genuine. Authorities are also investigating whether similar counterfeit products are already available in the market. By Norman Palihawadane