BIA Customs thwarts attempt to smuggle in Rs.1.15 Mn worth cigarettes
– An attempt to smuggle in foreign cigarettes worth over Rs. 1.15 million by two local passengers returning from Dubai was thwarted by Sri Lanka Customs at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) this morning.
The Customs officials at the BIA Arrival Terminal on suspicion searched two local men trying to vacate the airport through the ‘nothing to declare’ Customs Green Channel, when they found cigarettes concealed in their baggage.
The officials found 385 cartons of foreign cigarettes that contained 77,000 sticks in them. The consignment of cigarettes has a street value of Rs. 11,550,000.
The preliminary inquiries revealed that the passengers had arrived in the country on SriLankan Airlines flight UL 226. One of them is reportedly a 25-year-old mason from Kandy and the other is a 46-year-old businessman from Colombo.
