The illicit cigarettes were detected in a 20-foot container after a special investigation.

The container was loaded with 1,294 rolls of printed rayon fabrics weighing 20,250 kg, which were declared to customs. The container was brought to the port from Dubai, whereas the cargo was loaded to the container in China.

Customs officers open and conduct investigations based on the suspicious weight of the container, cross references, address at the destination and its contents.

Later, the container was brought to the Rank Container Terminal (RCT) for further investigation. During the inspection, the customs officers found 2,999,400 sticks of Manchester UK cigarettes, 38 fabric rolls (8,419 kg), cosmetics, hair bands, hair clips, extension cords, sports goods and slipper grips.

The container was registered to an office in Colombo 15.

The detected goods to the value of Rs. 18,978,152 were found undeclared to customers. (Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama)