Two Thai nationals were arrested at Bandaranaike International Airport in the early hours of Tuesday while allegedly attempting to bring “Kush” cannabis and hashish worth more than Rs. 51 million into Sri Lanka.
Officers of the Sri Lanka Customs Narcotics Control Unit stopped the pair at the arrival terminal after they attempted to pass through the Green Channel, the lane reserved for passengers with nothing to declare, Ada Derana reported.
The suspects, aged 23 and 39, are described as butchers employed at a meat market in Thailand. They arrived at around midnight aboard Thai Airways flight TG-307 from Bangkok.
Concealment
Customs officers searching the two suitcases found 4 kilograms and 496 grams of Kush concealed inside 16 vitamin containers, along with 641 grams of hashish wrapped in polythene and externally disguised to resemble blackcurrant paste.
The seizure was valued at Rs. 51,370,000. The suspects and the narcotics were handed to officers of the Katunayake Airport Police Narcotics Bureau for onward investigation.
Kush — a synthetic-adulterated cannabis product distinct from conventional herbal cannabis — has featured in a rising share of airport seizures in Sri Lanka.
Which agency made the arrest
The two accounts credit different units. Ada Derana attributes the interception to Customs officers working the Green Channel; Hiru News reports that the arrest followed a raid by the Police Narcotics Bureau’s airport unit acting on special information.
The two are not necessarily in conflict. Ada Derana’s account has Customs seizing the consignment and then transferring the suspects to the airport police narcotics unit, which would leave both agencies accurately named at different stages. Neither outlet says whether prior intelligence directed the Customs check.
Hiru gives the value as “over Rs. 50 million” against Ada Derana’s itemised Rs. 51,370,000. Ada Derana’s report is also internally date-stamped “today (09)” although it was published on September 8 and describes a midnight arrival that morning.
