Finance Minister orders Customs investigation into waste containers

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday ordered Customs to conduct an investigation into the import of containers containing clinical waste to Sri Lanka, and said he stands ready to take legal action against those

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera

responsible.  

Issuing a statement, the Finance Ministry said Samaraweera has ordered Customs Director General P.S.M Charles to conduct an investigation into more than a hundred containers that arrived in the Colombo Port, containing clinical waste. 

Some of these containers were subsequently released and sent to the Katunayake Export Processing Zone.

“If any country is importing waste material, it can only be done so with permission from environmental protection agencies, which in Sri Lanka is the Central Environmental Agency (CEA). Therefore the Finance Minister has instructed Customs to conduct an investigation and submit a report on the waste containers imported to Sri Lanka. The Finance Minister is prepared to take the toughest legal action against those responsible,” the statement said.