He had Wallapatta worth Rs.10mn in hand luggage

A 31-year-old Sri Lankan was nabbed with 16.2 kilograms of Wallapatta at the Katunayake Airport this morning, Customs media spokesman Leslie Gamini said. He said the man was awaiting a flight to Bangalore.

Mr. Gamini said that the suspect was a resident of Grandpass and that the contraband worth some Rs.10 million was concealed in his hand luggage.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect was not the owner of the Wallapatta but was only acting as a carrier and had been told that these were to put in fish tanks. (Chaturanga Pradeep)