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| Sunday, 25 January 2004 |
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More storms in more teacups Crime Sunday by JAYAMPATHY JAYASINGHE The tea industry, shaken by the assassination of an executive of a tea firm at Nawala and the attempted murder of a Managing Director of a Tea company in Maradana last month received a further jolt by the busting of a multi-million rupee racket involving the export of inferior quality tea. While the City of Colombo was a hive of activity last Tuesday celebrating the signing of the MoU between the SLFP and the JVP, a group of policemen from the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) storming a warehouse at Grandpass found 56,306 kilos of inferior quality black teas worth over Rs. 60 million. The tea was being packed to be exported to Middle Eastern countries. Tea Commissioner H.D. Hemaratne said they had not issued the company a licence to export such tea. Four employees of the warehouse were arrested by CCD officers who took charge of several other items such as tools, packaging material and stencils used for packaging and for labelling purposes. Officials of the Tea Commissioners Department who accompanied the police team sealed off the warehouse. Meanwhile, a subsequent raid carried out by the by the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) at a warehouse at Wolfendhal Street, Colombo last Wednesday unearthed over 200,000 kgs. of inferior quality tea, the biggest quantity of inferior quality tea to be detected so far. The consignment is estimated to be worth several millions of rupees. Director, Colombo Crime Division, SSP Sarath Lugoda said that they have launched an investigation to ascertain whether the refuse tea found at the Wolfendhal warehouse were also meant to be exported to the Middle East. "We have taken an employee into custody. The proprietors of the business will be questioned in this regard. We have earmarked nine brokering firms that have assisted exporters to dump inferior quality tea in the Middle Eastern market," he said. He said that a person involved in buying poor quality teas from the up-country areas for export purposes had been arrested in Daulugala, Peradeniya area. But the mastermind behind the racket had vanished and the police team is combing the area for his arrest. Officers of the Tea Commissioner's Department sealed the warehouse after they found a large quantity of inferior quality tea at the Daulugala warehouse. SSP Lugoda said that his officers are relentlessly pursuing leads to determine whether the killing of a tea firm executive and the attempted killing of the Managing Director were master-minded by those involved in the export of inferior quality teas. Tea Commissioner H.D. Hemaratne said that he had received several anonymous threatening calls after the warehouses at Grandpass and Wolfendhal were raided by his officials. Despite these threats, he will continue to work till the whole mess is cleared he said. Several other implements including chemicals used to colour teas were also confiscated by officials of the Tea Board. Mr. Hemaratne said that crooked businessmen have been engaged in exporting inferior quality teas to the Middle East with the idea of making large profits. The teas have been brought at price below those sold at the Colombo Auction. The prices of good quality teas are bound to rise when inferior quality teas are not exported to the Middle East. The Tea Commissioners Department had confiscated 95,000 kilos of inferior quality teas that were to be exported to the Middle East. The figures for 2003 have not been completed. The Tea Commissioner said the Colombo Crime Division has busted a major fraud that deprives the State coffers millions of rupees as taxes. Dumping of inferior quality and adulterated teas in the Middle East would tarnish Sri Lanka's image as a quality tea producing country. CCD officials are still probing whether there is a move by any interested party to destabilise the Colombo Tea Auction for their own personnel gain. What was the motive for targeting two executives in the tea trade. Initial investigations have revealed that the two executives have been buying top quality tea for their companies at the Colombo Tea auction. Police suspect that the shooting was to intimidate people at the Colombo Tea Auctions. The Managing Director who was shot at when his car stopped at the Maradana traffic lights, is still in a critical condition at the National Hospital, police said. According to the CCD, nine gangs are engaged in contract killings in Colombo and the suburbs. |
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