Two more customs officers nabbed over Rs 125m bribe

The Bribery Commission today arrested another 2 Customs officers in connection with the previous Rs 125 million bribery raid, the Director General of the commission Dilrukshi Wickramasinghe told Ada Derana.

Customs officers Wasantha Wimalaweera and Upali Wickremesinghe have been arrested for their involvement in the case. 

Initially three customs officers were arrested while soliciting the largest ever recorded bribe nabbed by the Commission to Investigate Allegation of Bribery or Corruption on October 15, 2015.

Customs Superintendent Sujeewa Parakrama Jinadasa, Deputy Customs Superintendent Jagath Gunathilake and Assistant Customs Superintendent M.D.U.G. Perera were arrested on charges of accepting a bribe from a foreign company exporting vehicle parts to Sri Lanka. 

It was reported that the customs officers in question had informed a foreign company that a post audit had found that a payment of Rs 1,500 million was required for the release of a consignment of spare parts, to be used by the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB).

However, when representatives of the company had stated that they were not legally obliged to make such a payment, the customs officers had negotiated to waive off the payment if they agreed to pay a bribe of Rs 150 million. 

The representatives of the foreign company had then informed the Bribery Commission and following conversation the bribe was reduced to Rs 125 million. 

The customs officers were then arrested while accepting the bribe from the company representatives at an agreed location in Colombo. They were ordered released on bail on December 01.