Female Filipino Assistant Accountant nabbed with Rs.200Mn worth Cocaine at BIA

• The 47-year-old passenger had been given a sum of USD 1,000 to transport the contraband and provided for the hotels to remain a few days in Colombo until a local contact would collect the drugs from her

By Kurulu Koojana Kariyakarawana   
A female Philippine national who tried to enter the country with Rs.200 million worth Cocaine concealed in her baggage along with some spices was nabbed by Sri Lanka Customs at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA). 

The Customs Narcotic Control Unit officials stationed at the BIA Arrival Terminal searched the foreigner on suspicion to find 2, 851 grams (2.8Kgs) cocaine contained in three parcels from her bag.   

Customs spokesperson and Additional Director General Seevalie Arukgoda said the Filipino woman had arrived in the country on Tuesday evening on Qatar Airways flight QR 654. She had boarded the flight from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and had arrived in Colombo via Doha.   

When questioned the female had told the authorities that she works as an Assistant Accountant in the Philippines and had been asked by one of her friends to carry the narcotics to Colombo.   

The 47-year-old passenger had been given a sum of USD 1,000 to transport the contraband and provided for the hotels to remain a few days in Colombo until a local contact would collect the drugs from her.   

A senior Customs narcotic detective told the Daily Mirror that they suspect the woman had carried drugs to Malaysia and India before though this was her first visit to Sri Lanka.   

The haul of cocaine had been valued at Rs.200 million with an estimated street value of Rs.70, 000 a gram. The cocaine was usually sold between Rs.35,000 to 40,000 a gram in the country till late but the prevailing scarcity had excessively increased the prices, the official said.   

The suspect was to be handed over to the Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB) along with the drugs for further investigations.  

This has been recorded as the fourth attempt to smuggle cocaine into the country since January this year.