Monk says corruption helps racketeers thrive

The Walana Police Anti-Vice Strike Force raided an artificial toddy distillery at Weerakodiyana in Dummalasooriya and seized 36,000 litres of the illicit brew, eight plastic barrels, 50 kilos of sugar, 75 kilos of ammonia and 100 packets of yeast yesterday.

Police said the raid had been carried out on a tip-off that an artificial toddy distillery had been run under the guise of a poultry farm.

The raiding party had arrested a person who was in charge of the operation.

The suspects and paraphernalia were handed over to the Dummalsooriya police for legal action.

The suspect has divulged that their brew was supplied to a private liquor company to be used as raw material to produce coconut arrack, police said.

In a statement issued yesterday following the raid, the President of the Nawa Sinhala Rawaya, Ven Magalkande Sudattha Thera said that the illicit toddy industry was thriving despite isolated raids at various places in the country.

In the statement Sudattha Thera said that police, the STF and other law enforcement units had conducted successful raids at many places in the country in the recent past. “Thereafter the police hand over the suspects and contraband to the Excise Department for legal action. The Excise Department officials in most of the cases do not produce those suspects and contraband in the courts. Instead they make use of some provisions in the Excise Act and define the offence as a technical one and release the suspects after levying a settlement fee. Many illicit toddy producers have licences for toddy tapping. The Excise Department punishment has no deterrent effect on the offenders.”

“Hundred thousands of litres of illicit toddy have been seized during the recent past. As per the number of raids all around the country, the illicit toddy business would have been wiped out. But it thrives because officials are victims of inducements by the owners of the illicit toddy industry. During the recent raid, the police found three bags containing 25 kilos of ammonia to be used to produce toddy. That was in addition to 36,000 litres of illicit toddy. How could the government ensure public safety when the poison is being sold in bottles in the name of toddy? The President has launched an initiative to prevent corruption in the public sector. We hope that this issue too would be taken into consideration by the government.”