Two people have been arrested in connection with a stock of textbooks worth around Rs. 800,000 that had been issued for distribution to students in the Eastern Province but went missing.
Investigations by the Thalangama Police have revealed that the lorry driver who transported the textbooks had sold the stock to a scrap dealer for Rs. 47,000, police said.
A total of 19,892 textbooks had been handed over to a company in the Biyagama area contracted by the Department of Educational Publications to transport the books for distribution to students in the Eastern Province.
The lorry driver attached to the company had taken possession of the stock in May but failed to deliver it as required.
An official of the Department of Educational Publications subsequently lodged a complaint with the Thalangama Police after learning that the books had not been properly delivered.
Police arrested the lorry driver during their investigations and found that he had sold the books to a scrap dealer by weight as waste paper.
The person who purchased the textbooks was also arrested.
During questioning, the scrap dealer revealed that the books had subsequently been sold to a recycling facility in the Peliyagoda area that processes old newspapers and paper.
Police said investigations are continuing to identify and arrest several other suspects linked to the incident. (Newswire)