Sri Lankan govt to raid fuel hoarders

The Sri Lankan Police stated a nationwide raid would be carried out on those hoarding diesel or petrol for resale amid the ongoing economic crisis. Police spokesman Nihal Thalduwa said they had received information that a large number of those queuing at gas stations are buying fuel to resell at higher prices. This was causing great inconvenience for the people as long queues persist despite availability of fuel, said Thalduwa. Meanwhile, Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera said that a ship carrying petrolstarted unloading in Colombo on Saturday night. For the past few weeks a container carrying Syberian crude oil was waiting at the Colombo Port as the Sri Lankan government was short on Dollars for paying to download the fuel from the tanker. However, the Sri Lankan government managed to arrange for the payment and the fuel from the tanker could finally be made available to the population in Sri Lanka already in distress due to the economic crisis.