Sri Lankan authorities on Wednesday (June 15) destroyed 200 million sticks of illegally imported cigarettes at a storage yard in Kerawalapitiya.
According to Finance State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya, the value of the destroyed cigarette was to the tune of Rs. 15 billion.
The officers of Sri Lanka Customs had confiscated these contraband items since 2021, after foiling multiple smuggling attempts.
Commending the efforts of Sri Lanka Customs, Siyambalapitiya said the government managed to save Rs. 13 billion all thanks to the successful confiscation of these illegally-imported cigarettes, which were found to be unfit for consumption.
Siyambalapitiya said Rs. 400 million - Rs. 2 per one stick of cigarette – would be charged from Ceylon Tobacco Company for the destruction of this cigarette consignment. The three companies that had imported these cigarettes were meanwhile imposed a fine of Rs. 2.5 million each, he added.
Siyambalapitiya said this is the largest consignment of impounded cigarettes destroyed by the Sri Lanka Customs to date.
