Sri Lanka Customs officers at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) have seized a consignment of foreign-made cigarettes and electronic cigarettes valued at Rs. 38.67 million, arresting a 27-year-old businessman from Colombo as he attempted to clear them through arrivals.
The suspect arrived on an Emirates flight from Dubai on Saturday morning, Customs said. A group accompanying him fled the scene when officers moved in for the arrest, abandoning their own luggage.
Inspection of 16 pieces of luggage uncovered 1,149 cigarette cartons containing 229,800 foreign-made cigarette sticks, alongside 113 electronic cigarettes. The seized goods are now in Customs custody pending further investigation.
The case is the second high-value BIA enforcement action of the day, coming hours after Customs Narcotics Control intercepted Rs. 25 million worth of “kush” hidden in dried-fruit packaging on a flight from Bangkok. Both interceptions reinforce the airport’s status as the country’s primary contraband interdiction point.
Foreign-cigarette smuggling at BIA has surged in recent months as price differentials between Dubai duty-free product and the local taxed market widen. Earlier hauls this month included a Rs. 34 million Chinese-businessman case and a Rs. 11 million arrest involving six Chinese nationals, pointing to a recurring organised pattern rather than isolated personal-use violations.
