Three foreign nationals have been arrested by Sri Lanka Customs after allegedly attempting to smuggle a large consignment of Chinese-manufactured cigarettes through Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake.
According to Customs, the seized stock is valued at approximately Rs. 6.408 million.
The suspects, who arrived at the airport in the early hours of today (30), allegedly attempted to leave through the ‘Nothing to Declare’ Green Channel without declaring the cigarettes.
The three individuals include two Chinese nationals—a man and a woman—and one Hong Kong national, all reported to be businesspeople in their mid-twenties.
They had travelled to Sri Lanka on a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which landed at around 2.00 a.m.
Customs officers discovered 42,720 Chinese-manufactured cigarettes, packed in 2,136 cigarette packets, concealed inside biscuit boxes that had been placed in their luggage.
Following the detection, Customs officers launched a formal investigation into the attempted smuggling operation.
The entire stock of cigarettes was confiscated by Sri Lanka Customs, while the three suspects were ordered to pay a total fine of Rs. 220,000.
Authorities are continuing investigations into the incident.
