Teddy bears turn out to be new Cocaine carriers

• 10.3 kilos of cocaine was found inside 500 rubber capsules

By Kurulu Koojana Kariyakarawana

In the largest consignment of Cocaine seized in the history of the Bandaranaike International Airport, a female trafficker from Thailand had used three big soft toys to conceal the contraband with a street value of over Rs.517 million that was seized by Sri Lanka Customs. A 39-year-old female Thai national who arrived in the country early yesterday  morning was searched by the Customs Narcotic Control Unit officials to find the drugs that had been hidden in three soft toys. The officials tore open the unusually heavy soft toys to find 500 rubber capsules containing about 10 kilos and 300 grams of cocaine filled in them.  

According to Customs Spokesperson Additional Director General Seevali Arukgoda said the female foreigner had boarded a Qatar Airways flight QR 662 from Doha and had arrived in Katunayake around 2.50 am.

The spokesman said the detection by the Customs has been recognised to be the largest Cocaine consignment in a Sri Lankan airport.

Meanwhile, a senior official of the Customs Narcotic Control Unit told the Daily Mirror it is suspected that the foreigner had accidentally carried extra cocaine packages, which were meant to be sent to two other international destinations.

The female suspect, along with the narcotics, was to be handed over to the Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB) for further legal formalities.