Aug 28, Colombo: Sri Lanka's elite Special Task Force (STF) police officials of Grandpass STF camp nabbed a large stock of waste tea that was reserved to be mixed with good quality tea.

The stock of waste tea was recovered from a truck stopped at the R.N.R. Import and Export Company on the Golden Jubilee Road in Grandpass in the Colombo city.

The STF raided the truck on a tip and recovered the stock containing 12,000 kilos of waste tea that was to be transported to an undisclosed location.

The STF arrested five Tamil persons along with the tea consignment in the truck. Police say that they are residents of Grandpass, Narahenpita, Wellawatta and Hultsdorf areas of the capital city.

The Police suspect a long-run racket of blending waste tea with Sri Lanka's export tea. The unscrupulous deal may have affected the demand for Pure Ceylon Tea.