Retired Deputy Excise Commissioner and Excise Corporal arrested over bribery allegations

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A retired Deputy Commissioner of Excise and an Excise Corporal attached to the Matara Excise Office were arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) on Thursday (November 5, 2026), over allegations of accepting cheques as bribes from a licensed company.

The first suspect, Channa Jayanath Alwis Weerakkody, a retired Deputy Commissioner of Excise, was arrested over allegations of accepting cheques unlawfully issued from the bank accounts of a legally licensed company that was under his supervision.

The alleged offences took place while he was serving as the Excise Superintendent of Kalutara and Acting Excise Superintendent (Manufactories) of Aluthgama.

The second suspect, Polgampalage Sampath Ranasinghe, an Excise Corporal attached to the Matara Excise Office, was arrested over allegations of accepting cheques as bribes from the same company’s bank accounts.

He had previously served as an Excise officer at the company’s distillery and was allegedly not entitled to receive such payments as part of his official duties.

According to CIABOC, the two suspects were arrested by investigating officers at approximately 9:05 AM and 9:15 AM, respectively, on November 5, 2026.

The suspects are scheduled to be produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court.