Police seize two bowsers of substandard oil

COLOMBO (News1st): The Dankotuwa police had recovered two bowsers of substandard oil after launching an operation yesterday, based on a tip-off received by their emergency unit. The two bowsers containing 55,000 litres of substandard coconut oil belongs to Edirisinghe Edible Oil (Pvt) Ltd. According to the police, investigations have shown that the oil was part of the consignment that was ordered to be re-exported as it was below standard. The department of customs has launched further investigations into the matter. Authorities have instructed Ali Brothers Pvt. Ltd., Edirisinghe Edible Oil (Pvt) Ltd, and Katana Refineries Pvt. Ltd. to return 13 containers of oil as it was found to contain cancer-causing elements. Accordingly, the question arises as to how the consignments that should be under the purview of the customs department had been cleared. The director-general of the customs department had said that the consignments of oil had been released to the storages of importers due to insufficient space in the warehouse. "I'm not trying to imply that this does not leave room for any form of irregularities. But they know the repercussions that they will have to face if they engage in such acts," the director-general Vijitha Ravipriya noted. He added that customs officers inspect the consignments and stocks that have been released to the warehouses of these importers. Dr Nalinda Jayatissa, a former lawmaker of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna said that, if the stocks had been consumed by the people, it would be reflected if any diseases emerge in the future. "A fine can be imposed for importing sub-standard stocks of oil. But the problem is that action cannot be taken any further apart from imposing a fine," he said. Dr. Jayatissa pointed out that this allows racketeers to bring down harmful consignments to the country and provide them to the people. Madura Withanage, a parliamentarian of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, claimed that imported products were not tested for harmful elements in the past. "The people might be beginning to feel the side-effects of consuming such products from 2015 to 2019," Withanage said. Quoting the director of the Apeksha Hospital, Withanage noted that  25,000 cancer patients are identified annually.