Police investigating the bid by 22 Buddhist monks to smuggle narcotics worth up to Rs. 1.1 billion through Bandaranaike International Airport believe the organisers of the operation had sent groups of monks to Thailand on earlier occasions and brought narcotics into the country before, The Island reported on Tuesday.
Investigators have seized the mobile phones used by the suspects and formally sought Interpol assistance to trace the wider network behind the operation, the report said. Mobile phone evidence indicates the group travelled to Bangkok on April 22 using airline tickets allegedly provided by a sponsor, with the suspects later photographed in civilian clothing while overseas, engaged in activities described as suspicious.
The Negombo Magistrate’s Court has remanded all 22 monks until May 2 as investigations continue into the alleged smuggling operation and any wider networks involved. They were arrested following a Police Narcotics Bureau raid on Saturday night, in what police describe as the largest drug bust in the airport’s history.
More than 110 kilogrammes of suspected kush and hashish were concealed in false-bottom suitcases packed with school supplies and sweets, with each individual carrying over five kilogrammes. Estimates of the consignment’s street value range from Rs. 660 million to over Rs. 1.1 billion across different police sources.
Police say the case marks the first reported instance of a large-scale narcotics operation through the airport involving Buddhist monks. The suspects are young monks from different parts of the country. Earlier reporting identified three masterminds, including a Bangkok-resident sponsor, with the main suspect monk now in seven-day CID detention.
