• Western Province Governor denies link to released containers   

Issuing a clarification regarding the controversy over containers released recently, the Customs said that there was no cargo designated to Expolanka Holdings among the 323 containers released without inspections.

Furthermore, the Department stated that there were no chances of weapons, gold, narcotics, etc., entering the country and no revenue losses to the State through the release of these containers.

Accordingly, the issued statement includes eight points, including the method followed by the Customs for the release of goods and the factors that led to the delay in the release of the containers selected for inspection.

Meanwhile, Western Province (WP) Governor Hanif Yusoof denied allegations levelled against him with regard to the release of containers from the Colombo Port without inspection. He stated that he has no connection with the containers in question and expressed regret over the accusations made against him. 

The allegations in question, which surfaced on social media and were raised by members of Opposition political parties, had claimed that the released containers contained goods imported by a company linked to Yusoof.