A 33-year-old Sri Lankan photographer has been arrested at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) after Customs officers seized a large quantity of “kush” cannabis valued at Rs. 25.05 million from his luggage.
The Colombo resident arrived from Bangkok on flight FD 140 and attempted to clear the airport via the green channel, the Sri Lanka Customs Narcotics Control Unit said. Officers stopped and searched the passenger on suspicion, opening his suitcase to inspect what initially appeared to be commercial packets of dried fruit.
Inside the packets, officers found 2,505 grams of the synthetic cannabis preparation marketed as “kush”, with the original dried-fruit contents removed and replaced with the narcotic. The estimated street value is Rs. 25.05 million, Customs said.
The suspect is being handed over with the seized consignment to the BIA Police Narcotics Bureau for further investigation.
The seizure adds to a steady run of BIA narcotics interceptions this month, including the Rs. 113 million chocolate-concealed kush case and the Rs. 60 million Indonesian-trafficked haul, reinforcing concerns that Bangkok and other Southeast Asian transit points remain active routes for synthetic cannabis bound for the Sri Lankan market. The arrests come during the NPP government’s flagship “Rata Ekata” anti-narcotics campaign, which has logged more than 156,000 arrests since launching in October 2025.
