Colombo, January 22 (Daily Mirror) – The Customs Trade Union Alliance (CTUA) today announced that it will not take the responsibility for the goods contained in the 323 containers which were flagged red by the computer system, but cleared and released by the government recently.
Addressing the media, CTUA President Amila Sanjeeva stated that the union will not bear any responsibility if these particular containers are found to contain low-quality medicines rejected by the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA), cosmetic items deemed unfit for use, illegal cigarettes, other illegal imports, drugs or even weapons.
A total of 323 containers, highlighted under the red label and identified as requiring mandatory examination, were cleared for release without proper inspection.
“The containers marked in red by the computer system were flagged for higher inspection,” he said.
Following the decision to release these containers, it was revealed that 80% of them contained goods that required mandatory examination by the Customs.
The Customs Trade Union is now questioning the government on who has the legal authority or under which law such a large number of red-labelled containers were released.