A 40-year-old man from Marawila has been arrested at the arrival terminal of Bandaranaike International Airport early on Saturday while attempting to smuggle 26,600 duty-free cigarettes into the country, Newswire reported.
The suspect was found in possession of 133 cartons of cigarettes during a search by officers of the Airport Unit of the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB), police said. Further investigations are being conducted jointly by the PNB and Airport Police.
The arrest extends a near-continuous run of duty-free cigarette interceptions at BIA in recent weeks. The PNB and BIA Customs teams have been actively breaking up small-volume smuggling operations through the Colombo airport, with three Chinese passengers caught with cigarettes worth Rs.8.3 million in early June, 13 Chinese nationals arrested for a Rs.28 million Bangkok-route smuggling attempt on June 2, and 14 Chinese nationals taken into custody with cigarettes worth Rs.20 million on May 28.
The seizure differs from those cases in that the suspect is a Sri Lankan national from the Puttalam-coast town of Marawila, rather than a foreign-passport-holder. Saturday’s arrest will be referred for further legal action under Customs and excise statutes once the Narcotics Bureau and Airport Police complete their probe.
Source: Newswire — Man arrested at BIA with 26,600 duty-free cigarettes.
