Organised gang smuggles largest cigarette consignment in recent past

Colombo, May 12 (Daily Mirror) - A four-member gang of organised local male passengers, who tried to smuggle in what is considered to be the largest cigarette consignment in the recent past, through the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) was taken into custody by Sri Lanka Customs last night. 

The group coming from Dubai had arrived in the country on Emirates Airline flight EK 648 and had tried to leave the airport through the ‘nothing to declare’ green channel. 

The Customs officials at the BIA Arrival Terminal on suspicion searched the passengers when they had tried to leave the airport on their own as individual passengers and not as a group that had come together. 

According to Customs Spokesperson Seevali Arukgoda the officials found 30 checked baggages filled with 2,000 cartons of cigarettes of a brand of cigarettes which had been valued at Rs. 60 million. 

The passengers had been identified as residents of Wellampitiya, Bambalapitiya, Dematagoda and Koswatta, who are  25 to 30 years of age. 

BIA Customs are conducting further inquiries, while the seized contraband has been forfeited.