Record drug haul worth Rs. 50 mn seized at Katunayake airport

By T.K.G Kapila

Colombo, January 6 (Daily Mirror) - Officers of the Customs Narcotics Control Division seized the largest-ever drug consignment detected at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Katunayake, on the morning of June 1, Customs said.

The haul, valued at approximately Rs. 50 million, was intercepted at the airport’s arrival terminal when three foreign passengers attempted to exit through the “Green Channel” without declaring any items.

The suspects are two women and a man from Mumbai, India. The 27-year-old male suspect is employed at a telephone exchange in Mumbai, while the two women, aged 25 and 31, are school teachers. Customs officials said the man is married to one of the women, and the other is his sister.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects were promised a trip to Bangkok by drug traffickers, who allegedly arranged for the consignment to be transported via the Katunayake Airport. The trio arrived in Sri Lanka from Bangkok on SriLankan Airlines flight UL-403 at around 11.07 a.m. on June 1.

Customs officers found 50 kilograms of “Kush” concealed in 48 packages, each weighing slightly over 100 grams, hidden inside three suitcases.

This seizure surpasses the previous record at Katunayake Airport, where 46 kilograms of “Kush” were detected last year on Vesak Poya Day from a British flight attendant.

Arrangements have been made to hand over the seized narcotics and the three Indian nationals to the Katunayake Airport Police Narcotics Bureau for further investigations.