India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has busted a transnational smuggling network that illegally imported more than 7,300,000 kilos of Pakistan-origin rock salt by routing shipments through Sri Lanka and using forged trade documents to conceal their origin, India Today reported yesterday.

Four people had been arrested in connection with the case, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday.

Under Operation Deep Manifest, the DRI detected 295 containers carrying 7,311 metric tons of industrial and Himalayan rock salt, with an estimated value of Rs. 104.5 million in Sri Lankan currency.

The consignments were routed through Colombo port in Sri Lanka, while fabricated certificates of origin and invoices issued by United Arab Emirates-based entities were allegedly used to disguise the goods as originating elsewhere.

The imports violated India’s prohibition on goods originating in or exported from Pakistan, the ministry said.

Acting on specific intelligence, the DRI conducted a coordinated operation between September 26 and October 11, searching premises linked to the suspected network in Gandhidham, Adipur, Veraval, Panipat, Pune, Patiala, Delhi and Mumbai.

The investigation found that nine importers had brought in the 295 containers through Mundra and Kandla ports since March 2026.

Of the total consignments detected, five containers carrying 140 metric tons of industrial and Himalayan rock salt, valued at Rs. 8.48 million in Sri Lankan currency, were seized at Kandla port. The agency also seized sales proceeds worth Rs. 7.3 million in Sri Lankan currency held in the importers’ bank accounts.

… stage sit-in protest near Presidential Secretariat

by Nishan S. Priyantha

Buddhist monks who marched to Colombo demanding the release of imprisoned Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera continued their sit-in protest outside the Presidential Secretariat yesterday, as discussions between their representatives and Presidential Secretary Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake were underway.

The protesting monks said they would not leave the site until the authorities gave a positive response to their demand for the release of Gnanasara Thera. The discussions were continuing at the time this edition went to press.

The monks arrived in Colombo despite heavy rain, completing the six-day “Nidahase Pada Yathra” (Freedom March), which began in Kandy on October 10. The final leg of the march commenced from Kadawatha yesterday morning, proceeding through Kiribathgoda, Peliyagoda, Maligawatta and Maradana before reaching the area near the Presidential Secretariat at Galle Face.

Ven. Ulapane Sumangala Thera, commenting on the protest, urged the government to take immediate steps to secure Gnanasara Thera’s release, saying the participating monks expected a favourable response to their demand.

“Today is our final day. The Maha Sangha came from all four directions not to return empty-handed. We strongly urge the government to grant freedom to Gnanasara Thera, which is the expectation of all, including the respected chief prelates,” he said.

Ven. Sumangala Thera said the monks were prepared to meet President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at any location designated by him, including Pelawatte, Parliament or the President’s House.

“We are waiting to receive that message. If that does not happen, we are prepared to come wherever the President is. We are prepared to settle this matter one way or another today,” he said, warning that if their peaceful appeals continued to go unanswered, the monks would consider alternative ways of conveying their demands to the government.

The march, which began in Kandy on October 10, passed through Kadugannawa, Kegalle, Warakapola and Nittambuwa before reaching Kadawatha on October 14. The procession was organised to demand the release of Gnanasara Thera and advocate for the religious rights of Buddhist monks.

Heavy police security was deployed around the Presidential Secretariat and nearby roads as the monks gathered in the area. Galle Road near the Secretariat was also closed to traffic during the march.

A naval officer yesterday (15) told the Colombo High Court that Yoshitha Rajapaksa, son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, had received approximately Rs. 5.15 million in salaries during his service in the Sri Lanka Navy.

The officer testified during the hearing of a money laundering case against Rajapaksa under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The witness said the total of Rs. 5,150,626 represented salary payments made to Rajapaksa during his naval service and did not include any additional allowances.

The testimony was presented as part of the ongoing trial before the Colombo High Court.