Rs. 150 m fertiliser fraud bared

by L. S. Ananda Wedaarachchi

A fertiliser fraud running into Rs. 150 million was detected by the Investigation Division of the Ministry of Agriculture Development and Agrarian Services following the arrest of four persons including two Agriculture Development officers and a chairman of a farmer society according to the Head of the Investigation Division, A. Wickramasinghe.

Three Agriculture Development Officers and a Divisional Officer were also interdicted. This came to light following a series of raids in the Anuradhapura and Hambantota districts during the past three weeks.

Wickramasinghe said that the subsidised fertiliser sold at Rs. 350 per 50 kg bag were exclusively for farmers.

However, the fertiliser bags had not been distributed among the farmers. The suspect Government officers in connivance with certain businessmen had sold the fertiliser in the black market earning millions of rupees, said Wickramasinghe.