Former Customs top brass arrested over missing Gold

Colombo (News 1st) - Former Director General of Customs Jagath Wijeyweera and former Additional Director General of Customs Tharaka Seneviratne we arrested by the Police FCID today based. Fort Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake on the 19th of this month ordered the FCID to arrest the duo and produce them before the court. The order for their arrest was issued after the Police FCID reported to the court that the former customs officers had allegedly committed a criminal breach of trust through the release of 8kg of gold which was in the custody of the Sri Lanka customs. According to earlier court proceedings, Wijeyweera is alleged to have unlawfully released the Gold to the Navy for the construction of the Sandahiru Maha Seya. Wijeyweera and Senaviratne had earlier informed the FCID through their lawyers that they have been hospitalised, as a result the FCID took steps to arrest Wijeyweera at the Sri Jayawardenepura hospital while Tharaka Seneviratne was arrested by at the Badulla hospital. According to the Daily News, on the 16th of February 2017, the FCID questioned former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa as to how gold seized by the Customs Department was used to make statues kept at the Sandahiru Maha Seya chamber. The former Defence Secretary had been questioned as to how the Defence Ministry obtained gold although it was in the possession of the Customs Department.