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| Sunday, 09 March 2003 |
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Racket at Ports Authority : two suspects still at large By JAYAMPATHY JAYASINGHE Two persons from a clearing agency in Colombo, wanted in connection with the ongoing probe into a big racket at the Sri Lanka Ports Authority where many consignments of containers addressed to several companies have been cleared on forged documents, are still absconding, CID sources told the "Sunday Observer." A team of CID officials who visited the office of the clearing agency last week found several forged documents, but not the two officials who are said to be absconding. Altogether eight persons including Ports Authority officials, freight forwarding and clearing agents linked to the fraud have been remanded. A person linked to the racket from the Government Printing Department has also been quizzed at length, sources said. Several containers of fertiliser, cement, grocery and other imported items have been cleared on forged documents and the racket had been going unnoticed for several years with the connivance of Ports Authority officials and private clearing agency houses, which had deprived millions of rupees as revenue to the State coffers. The assistant accountant at the Ports Authority who is believed to be a key suspect, was arrested and remanded a fortnight ago, along with a cashier of the Ports Authority. The racketeers had forged several documents including invoices, demurrage receipts and clearance certificates, sources said. However, police have not been able to locate the printing press where these documents were printed. |
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