Malabe illegal distillery raid exposes an alleged fake sticker racket, a former minister link and questions over sophisticated security labels.
The Malabe illegal distillery raid has uncovered what investigators describe as evidence linked to one of the biggest alleged attacks on Sri Lanka’s state revenue.
Officers from the Western Province North Crime Division recently uncovered the operation in the Malabe area of Kaduwela. Police raided a luxury house on Sudarshana Mawatha on the 28th and discovered a massive illegal distillery operating in secret.
However, the raid goes beyond a case of illegal liquor production. It has also exposed what the article describes as the true face of the “fake sticker mafia.”
Parliamentary committees, including COPA and COPF, have repeatedly raised concerns over the issue. The alleged racket has reportedly caused the government an annual loss of Rs. 60 billion.
Malabe Illegal Distillery Reveals 18,000-Bottle Operation
Police found more than 18,000 bottles of liquor inside the luxury house. The bottles carried labels designed to closely resemble licensed liquor products. Security stickers had also been attached to the bottle caps.
A group of six people, including a retired military major, allegedly operated the racket.
The suspects are currently being held under remand warrants. According to the article, the most serious revelation to emerge from their questioning is an allegation that a powerful former minister stands behind the entire operation.
Police have now expanded their investigation as they search for a close associate of the former minister.
Meanwhile, investigators found that the alleged network extended beyond the Western Province.
Acting on information provided by the suspects, Crime Division officers conducted another raid in the Batticaloa area. Police arrested a millionaire businessman accused of distributing the illegal liquor to 25 licensed liquor outlets in Batticaloa.
Officers also took the relevant lorry and its driver into custody.
The findings indicate that a network of licensed liquor outlets in the hill country and Eastern Province had allegedly become directly connected to the illegal liquor distribution operation.
Security Stickers Raise Questions Over Technical Access
The most serious questions surrounding the Malabe illegal distillery investigation now concern the origin of the security stickers found on the bottles.
According to the article, the suspects confessed that they obtained the stickers directly from the Indian company that prints them.
Investigations have reportedly found that the security stickers are so sophisticated that even scanners belonging to the Excise Department cannot identify them as counterfeit.
Currently, Chennai-based Madras Security Printers Pvt. Ltd., known as MSP, holds the complete monopoly over the supply of security stickers required for Sri Lanka’s liquor industry. The company also controls the related Data Management System, known as SFMS, according to the article.
Investigating officers have stated that no party can obtain these stickers outside the control of the relevant Indian company or the Excise Department.
That has left investigators facing a central question: how did such stickers allegedly reach the hands of the racketeers?
The Western Province North Crime Division has launched a broader investigation into possible direct foreign connections. Investigators are also examining possible high-level connections within the Excise Department and allegations of political patronage.
The expanding investigation into the Malabe illegal distillery now centres on how the security stickers entered the alleged network and who may have enabled their use.
