Sri Lanka Customs issues clarification on contents of controversial containers
Sri Lanka Customs says that the contents of the 323 controversial shipping containers released without inspection were industrial goods and raw materials, according to the documents declared by the importers before they were released.
Sri Lanka Customs believe the contents were as declared by the importers and can assure the containers did not carry arms or drugs, the Customs Spokesperson said.
Sri Lanka Customs held a special press conference today (08) in response to allegations regarding the controversial release of a number of containers.
At the press briefing, Media Spokesperson and Additional Director General of Customs Seevali Arukgoda stated that all necessary steps were taken to release the containers only after thoroughly checking the import documents. He affirmed that, due to the procedures followed by Customs, he believes the containers did not contain any illegal items.
Arukgoda added: “These imported containers contained raw materials needed for industries, such as plastics, yarn, chemicals, automobile spare parts, animal feed, machinery, pesticides, cement, iron pipes, fertilizers, and wood. The containers were mostly imported from India and China, but also from countries like Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Switzerland, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).”
He further explained that due to the methodology followed during the release process, Sri Lanka Customs is confident that the containers only contained the goods declared by the importers. The release was carried out after thoroughly examining all import documents.
He further addressed the issue saying, “In recent times, there were accusations that these containers contained weapons, gold, or drugs. However, because of the selection method we used, we can confidently say that there was nothing illegal in them.”
He added that, given the widespread discussions surrounding the matter, Sri Lanka Customs has initiated a post-clearance audit. The Post-Clearance Department is currently conducting this audit, and a high-level committee appointed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance is also investigating the entire process.
“All relevant officers, including the Director General of Customs, have appeared before the committee and provided detailed explanations. We have also shared information with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). We can confirm that no external party influenced the container release process. I can say that with absolute certainty.”
He clarified that the current controversy concerns containers released on January 18, 2025. “Among the containers released that day, there were 180 importers. We received 234 Customs entry numbers from these importers. Based on those entries, we released 309 containers. In total, there were 371 containers. Of these, 62 were auto-released by our database system, and the remaining 309 were released through the committee. We have all the relevant information: the names and addresses of the importers, company details, board of directors, and the names of the clearing agents. We even have the container numbers and have provided all this data to the appropriate authorities.”
The Additional Director General of Customs further emphasized that Sri Lanka Customs uses a risk management system to decide which shipments require inspection.
“We release around 60% of cargo without inspection, based on risk assessment. This is not new; it has always been the practice and will continue to be. We make these decisions based on risk, not randomly,” he added.