(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) – A Kenyan national has been arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake along with 04 kilograms of cocaine, estimated to be worth around Rs. 300 million.
The 26-year-old passenger, who had arrived from Ethiopia, was arrested last night (24) at the arrival terminal of the airport by officers of the Sri Lanka Customs narcotics control unit.
The suspect, who is said to be a Kenyan car dealer, had reportedly travelled from Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa to Doha in Qatar and had then boarded a Qatar Airways flight (QR 654) bound for Sri Lanka.
Customs officers said that 180 capsules of cocaine, weighing 04 kg in total, were found concealed inside three metal cookie tins inside his hand luggage.
He was arrested by customs officers while attempting to exit through the ‘Green Channel’ at the airport based on foreign intelligence received by the Sri Lanka Customs narcotics control unit.
The arrested Kenyan passenger, who had arrived in Sri Lanka for the first time, has been handed over to the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) officers at the BIA along with the haul of drugs for further investigations.
