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My name is A. Dayaratna Silva, date of birth; 02/11/54. I am a
Sri Lankan national currently employed in the capacity of Commercial
Secretary at the Embassy of Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates.
(PO Box 46534, Abu Dhabi.) My permanent address is 126 , Alhena
Road, Maharagamag, Sri Lanka. Between 01/01/86 and 30/06/89 I served
as Assistant Trade Commissioner in the Sri Lanka High Commission at
London. I continued to reside in England until September 1990 while
I completed a Masters Degree at the University of London. Mr. Raja
de Silva is my nephew. He was employed as an Able Seaman on a German
ship chartered to the Sri Lankan Government that periodically berthed
at Felixstowe. My wife and I used to visit him occasionally while
his ship was in the harbour. On the last occasion that we visited
him, my self, my wife and brother-in-low arrived at about mid-night
(14/10/89) with some prepared food. We had a meal with Raja along
with some of his friends. We spent three or four hours aboard the
ship. Raja showed me a small package that weighed about three Kilos.
He asked whether I could post or deliver it to an address in London
as a favour for one of his friends. I asked him what the packet
contained and [he] opened it in my presence. We discovered that it
contained a variety of spices, curries and chilly powders. He
re-sealed the packet and I agreed to deliver it. We left the ship
and began our journey home by motor car. We were stopped at a check
point within the harbour by customs officers. The car was thoroughly
searched and all three passengers were subjected to a physical search
and a detailed interrogation. The Customs officers seized the
package. A Customs officer asked me what was in the package. I
explained that it held various spices, curries and chilly powders and
that Raja had asked me to deliver it to an address in London for a
friend of his. The Customs officers opened the package, confirmed
its contents and returned it to me. The officers had also found a
half consumed bottle of brandy in the car. A woman officer warned me
not to bring such spirits into the harbour in future and we were
allowed to leave. This incident took place in the early hours of
15/10/89 at around 3:30 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. We returned to our
residence at 85, Natal Road, Bound(s) Green, London. On the same day
I received a telephone call at about 8.30 p.m. from the Police or
Customs Authorities at Felixstowe informing me that Raja de Silva has
been arrested in connection with some parcels. I attended Raja's
trial but was not called to give evidence.
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