Customs bribe:Three remanded, two more to be arrested soon 

October 16, 2015, 9:25 pm 

(L-R) Customs Superintendent Sudeera Parakrama Jinadasa, Assistant Superintendent Upali Gunaratne and Deputy Superintendent Jagath Gunathilaka being brought to court yesterday.(Pic by Kamal Bogoda)

by Madura Ranwala

The Colombo Chief Magistrate yesterday remanded till Oct. 30 the three Customs officers arrested for accepting a bribe of Rs. 125 mn from a supplier of spare parts to Sri Lanka Transport Board on Monday (Oct. 15).

The suspects remanded are  Customs Superintendent Sudeera Parakrama Jinadasa, Assistant Superintendent Upali Gunaratne and Deputy Superintendent Jagath Gunathilaka

Director General of CIABOC and President’s Counsel Dilrukshi Dias Wickremesinghe told media yesterday that they would continue operations to nab top people who were involved in bribery and corruption including politicians.

It was the biggest ever raid in the history of the Commission and it had been a difficult task until the last moment, she told The Island on Monday.

She said the operation had been planned for over three weeks and she was happy that it had yielded the desired results.

At the media briefing held at CIABOC on Baudhaloka Mawatha, she thanked the police officers, her staff and others who had cooperated to make it a success.

The CIABOC Director General told The Island yesterday that her officers would arrest two more Customs officers soon.

"They will be arrested in connection with the same offence," she said.

Asked whether they were officials above the rank of the arrested trio, she withheld comment citing that the law did not allow her to reveal that.

She said that the duo had not accompanied the arrested trio on that day, though they were involved in the offence.