The kingpin of the deadly chemical import racket has gone missing, said a spokesman for the police Criminal Investigations Department, (CID).

He said that the company where the kingpin worked had imported the same chemical "Thyonyl Chloride", a few months ago and the chemical was released by the Sri Lanka Customs.

A Chinese national and four Sri Lankans were detained when they attempted to import 'Thyonyl Chloride' on the pretext of importing toys from South India.

The CID spokesman said that a store in Kosgama belonging to the company has been sealed to carry out further investigations. Some items manufactured by the factory run by the suspects were sent to the Government Analyst for examination and report, he said.

The Chief Preventive Officer of the Sri Lanka Customs Samantha Gunasekera said that they found that the "Toys" imported by the suspects were heavier than the normal toys and this raised suspicions "When we opened the baggage we found 1,456 bottles (500ml each) of Thyonyl chloride, he said.

Courtesy: Sunday Observer