Minister's son taken into custody

The son of a deputy minister was taken into custody on Friday night for his alleged involvement in a gold smuggling racket, which was carried out with the help of employees of the Central Mail Exchange. Deputy Minister of Buddha Sasana Ediriweera Premarathne's son, Prabath Premaratne, is alleged to have been smuggling gold inside parcels sent from overseas.

"According to preliminary investigations the modus operandi was that a parcel is chosen from its departure point, where the gold is put into. The parcel is marked and the employees are informed of it. Once the identified parcel reaches Colombo the gold is removed and the parcel sealed for collection by the owner. The gold is then handed over to Minister Premarathne's son," a police officer explained.

However on Friday, two employees at the Mail Exchange who had been following the racket closely, had stolen the gold weighing three and a half kilos and was transporting it to Sea Street for sale, the officer said. The employees at the Mail Exchange who were involved in the racket had alerted the deputy minister's son and said that the gold had been removed by two other employees.

Meanwhile another employee at the mail exchange on suspicion had informed the narcotics bureau thinking it was drugs which was being smuggled. Premarathne's son with a MSD officer allegedly arrived at the Mail Exchange , to collect the parcel. The MSD officer had assaulted the employee. It was during this time that the police narcotics bureau arrived at the scene and arrested the suspects.