Sri Lanka Customs arrested two Chinese nationals at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) on Thursday for attempting to smuggle in 84 used Apple mobile phones suspected of being intended for cyber-related financial crimes.
The suspects — a 35-year-old woman and a 31-year-old man — arrived at Katunayake Airport at 1:20 a.m. on a China Eastern Airlines flight MU-6017 from Kunming, China. During inspection of their luggage, Customs officials discovered the phones valued at approximately Rs. 5.3 million, along with 10,000 Chinese-manufactured cigarettes and 400 packets of Chinese sweetened betel weighing 40 kilograms.
Customs officials said the devices are suspected to have been brought into the country to carry out computer-related financial fraud. The suspects were taken into custody by Airport Customs officers, with further investigations being conducted in coordination with Sri Lanka Police cybercrime units.
The arrest comes amid heightened scrutiny of Chinese nationals involved in telecom fraud operations in Sri Lanka. In late March, authorities repatriated 125 Chinese citizens connected to a cross-border cyber scam ring.
Kunming, the capital of China’s Yunnan province, has been identified by international law enforcement as a transit hub for cybercrime operations targeting Southeast and South Asian countries.
BIA has seen a series of significant seizures in recent weeks, including a Rs. 255 million cannabis bust and a kush-laced chocolates arrest. Sri Lanka Customs said further inquiries are ongoing.
