Customs security officer arrested over alleged motorcycle-clearance bribe

A Sri Lanka Customs security officer was arrested on November 12 over an alleged Rs30,000 payment connected with paperwork for two motorcycles imported from Japan, according to published reporting. Both reports place the arrest at Customs Head Office at about 2.25pm and attribute the operation to investigators from the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).

What the allegation concerns

The alleged amount was Rs15,000 for each motorcycle, or Rs30,000 in total, in return for providing the documents needed for Customs clearance. The published report describes both a demand and acceptance of the money, citing CIABOC; Published reporting indicates the allegation of a demand. These are reported allegations, not facts established by a court verdict.

Both outlets said the suspect was due to be produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court. That describes a planned next step at the time of those reports. No later court order, bail decision, remand decision or conviction has been verified for this article. An arrest alone does not establish guilt.

This account is based on the two published reports. CIABOC’s public media-release index and detection-and-raids page were checked, but a case-specific November12 primary notice was not retrieved. The attribution to CIABOC therefore remains the outlets’ account rather than a claim that this publication independently inspected the investigation file.

The photograph is an illustrative Colombo skyline and port view. It does not show the officer, the arrest, the motorcycles or a confirmed location inside Customs Head Office.