Three officials, including the Deputy Commissioner of the Narahenpita branch of the Department of Motor Traffic, have been remanded until June 6 by Colombo Chief Magistrate Tanuja Lakmali. They were arrested on suspicion of accepting approximately Rs. 4 million in bribes from the public within a single day.
The arrests were made yesterday (23) based on a tip-off received by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption. The suspects are accused of soliciting bribes in exchange for expediting vehicle registration and ownership transfer processes—particularly for customers applying for leasing facilities.
According to the intelligence received, the bribes were allegedly collected under the pretext of speeding up services and were then distributed among staff members. The suspects were unable to provide a satisfactory explanation for the source of the large sum of money, prompting their arrest by anti-corruption officials.