Customs officials at Bandaranaike International Airport have arrested a 37-year-old man from Pita Kotte in possession of 512 grams of Kush worth approximately Rs. 5.1 million, the Department of Customs said.
The suspect arrived in Sri Lanka the previous night on a flight from Thailand and had concealed the synthetic cannabinoid inside several food packages, Customs officers stated. The seized contraband has been taken into Customs custody for further inquiries.
The arrest is the latest in a string of Kush seizures at BIA in recent months, with Thailand emerging as a recurring transit point for the synthetic drug into Sri Lanka. Customs and Police Narcotics Bureau officials have intensified passenger profiling on Bangkok and Phuket inbound flights as part of the wider Rata Ekata anti-narcotics drive, which has logged more than 168,000 arrests since its October 2025 launch.
Earlier this week, a separate raid in Angoda recovered 2.3 kg of Ice and 700 grams of heroin in a Police Narcotics Bureau operation linked to the same enforcement push. The government has proposed a dedicated narcotics court and the resurrection of the 2007 Drug Dependents (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act framework as part of broader narcotics reforms.
Source: NewsFirst.
