Moonshine mission

On inauspicious July 7:

July 7th is generally perceived as a day where riotous things do happen without signs of forewarning. People consider July 7 as an inauspicious day to venture on anything new as it would bring them ill luck although there is no basics for such thinking, says astrological pundits.

However it is against that backdrop that several men on July 7 went ahead in distilling moonshine spirits regardless of what would befall them.

A pile of anonymous petitions were lying on the table of Senior Supdt. of Police Jayantha Perera, the senior officer at the Central Anti Striking Force (CAVSF) at Walana, Panadura. They were all about illicit liquor distillation in the Kandana Mahabage area.

The petitioners alleged the illicit liquor menace posed a grave threat to the environment. Distillation process was carried out in the marshy land of Muthurajawela in the Mahabage area, the largest environmental habitat situated in the suburbs of Colombo. Muthurajawela is important for several reasons.

The marshy land has prevented Colombo from flooding during the monsoon season where excess water flows into it. Being the largest marshy land, it was a safe haven for illicit hooch manufacturers and bootleggers. Known as the den for moonshine, the accessability to the swampy land is tedious. One has to wade through knee deep mud to get there.

Realising the gravity of the environmental degradation and the health risks posed to people who consume the poisonous brew, SSP Perera decided to despatch a team of Vice Squad policemen in civilian clothes to check the veracity of the story.

The policemen were briefed by OIC, CAVSF Inspector Duminda Balasuriya to keep a watch on men who hang around on the stretch of road from Peliyagoda up to Kandana. They were told that the men were informants of wealthy illicit hooch dealers detailed to keep a watch on the movement of police vehicles plying on the road.

If the men sense something unusual such as several police vehicles plying on the Wattala and Kandana roads they promptly informed their bosses by using cellular phones on the impending danger.

Meanwhile the police surveillance party left in the wee hours of the morning towards Kandana on a spying mission. They were told to proceed straight to Lanka Matha road at Kandana Mahabage and to keep a watch on a house for any suspicion activity. After arriving at the spot sleuths kept a watch on the house by using their informants. Meanwhile they got to know several suspicious looking persons entering the house.

This confirmed their suspicion that something unusual was happening behind closed doors. The petitions also stated that a large stockpile of illicit liquor was hidden in a secret house at Lanka Matha road belonging to a millionaire businessman. He also owned four large business enterprises in the area.

The production process Before water is added

Apart from the illicit liquor business he also transported stray cattle from areas such as Anuradhapura, Puttalam, Dambulla, Hambantota and Kurunegala in six lorries owned by him. The cattle were then sold to butchers in the western province for meat. The businessman who lived in a luxury house also owned several other houses in the area.

Several attempts made earlier to detect the stockpile ended in failure. The stockpile was disposed before police arrived at the scene. Watchmen deployed at Peliyagoda and at Kandana had informed their bosses after sighting several police vehicles heading in that direction.

In the meantime a police party led by OIC, CAVSF Inspector Duminda Balasuriya left Walana Panadura station on the same day after being informed by the surveillance party about the suspicious house. To avoid the watchmen noticing them the police party took a circuitous route and arrived safely at the house located at Lanka Matha road, Mahabage-Kandana.

The police team then raided the house and found a large stockpile of illicit liquor in the house. It was the largest stockpile of liquor seized by the police in recent times, said OIC, CAVSF, Inspector Duminda Balasuriya. Three thousand bottles of Unlawfully Distilled Sprits (UDS) were packed in 60 plastic cans ready for transportation to destinations like Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, and Kandy.

The OIC further stated the businessman used his luxury vehicles to transport illicit liquor during the night. “He was a big time illicit liquor businessman who supplied illicit liquor to bars in the city and elsewhere,” he said.

The Police party there afterwards raided Muthurajawela where they had distilled the spirits and unearthed several barrels buried in the mud. The total amount of Unlawfully Manufactured liquor (UML) found inside 10 barrels were 2,057600 grams worth more the Rs 15 lakhs, police said. While the raid was being carried out the millionaire businessman escaped while his uncle and a man engaged in the distillation process was taken into custody.

After the successful raid the two suspects along with illicit liquor and other equipment were brought to the Kandana police station during midnight that day. The raid was authorised by the new IGP Jayantha Wickremaratna who assumed duties last week and was executed by DIG Staff D.A. Fonseka at the police headquarters.