Two Sri Lankan passengers have been arrested at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) with 14 kilograms and 562 grams of the synthetic cannabinoid ‘Kush’ valued at over Rs. 140 million, Ada Derana reported.
The suspects — both residents of Dematagoda, Colombo — were taken into custody by the Customs Narcotics Control Unit while attempting to exit through the Green Channel at around 9.30am on Monday, after arriving on a SriLankan Airlines flight from Bangkok, Thailand. They have been identified as a 23-year-old liquor-store employee and a 30-year-old labourer (‘Nattami’).
The Kush had been concealed in 28 packages hidden among clothing items inside two pieces of luggage, Customs officials told Ada Derana. Further investigations have been handed to the Airport Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB).
The seizure extends a steady run of Kush interdictions at BIA over recent weeks. A Sri Lankan passenger was arrested earlier this month with 6kg of Kush concealed in chocolate boxes, and earlier interdictions included a Pita Kotte resident detained with 512g returning from Thailand, a photographer caught with 25 million rupees worth from Bangkok, and three Indonesian nationals stopped with Rs. 60 million. Customs and the PNB have flagged Bangkok flights as a recurring origin point for the synthetic-cannabinoid trafficking route.
Source: Ada Derana.
