The Hon. Ajith Gihan
Hon. Ajith Gihan raised concerns about intensified smuggling along the coastal belt, including narcotics, pharmaceuticals, injections, chemicals, and agricultural inputs, noting that seized quantities may be less than actual inflows. He said enforcement is weakened by procedural and custody issues after seizures under the Customs Ordinance, with goods sometimes handed to Police or Excise instead of Sri Lanka Customs. He asked whether a dedicated Sri Lanka Customs office would be established in the Puttalam District to regularize and streamline seizure handling.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Minister, my first supplementary question: This coastal belt has historically been infamous for smuggling and at present the activity is severe. In addition to narcotics, we observed vaccines/medicines and other chemicals—about 800 kg of injections and pharmaceuticals—being brought in. We have information that daily inflows include such items, including for agriculture. The seized quantities are smaller than what actually comes in. During handover after seizures, procedures under the Customs Ordinance require custody by Sri Lanka Customs, but practical difficulties arise; sometimes handovers are to Police or to Excise. Due to irregularities, proper enforcement suffers. Though there is a Sri Lanka Customs office in the area, process gaps mean they cannot take over goods properly. Will a dedicated Sri Lanka Customs office be established in the Puttalam District for this area to streamline procedures?
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Tuesday, 5 August 2025 ·No. 1754902606038704 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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/lk/speeches/27824
Cite as: The Hon. Ajith Gihan. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 5 August 2025. No. 1754902606038704. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/27824