The Consumer Affairs Authority raided a warehouse owned by Sathosa recently, only to find that over 50,0000 kgs of garlic had been sold through the back door to a private business owner for a cheap price. Receipts of over 7.4 million were not accounted for as well, while the stocks were transferred from the Sathosa warehouse through a letter. A few weeks ago the cabinet had granted approval for Sathosa to distribute stocks of essential items that had not been cleared by private importers. These items were handed over to the Sathosa for distribution amongst the public. This illegal transaction had taken place late evening on the 9th of September. 'We would like to ask the President to inquire into this. If Sathosa is doing such things, going and nabbing small businesses is pointless. According to the information we have, a member of the upper management is involved,' stated Thushan Gunawardena, Executive Director, CAA. The Ministry of Trade has issued a communique stating that an investigation is to be made into this matter. Minister of Trade Bandula Gunawardana has instructed to suspend the service of the officials who are involved in this transaction. Stating in the communique that this illegal transaction had taken place without the approval of the upper management at Sathosa, Minister Gunawardena dismissed the CAA claims of upper management involvement.