– A foreign national was intercepted by Sri Lanka Customs at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) while attempting to smuggle a large consignment of foreign cigarettes into the country.The suspect, a business employee, arrived in Sri Lanka on China Eastern Airlines flight MU6017 on June 28 and was stopped at the Green Channel of the airport’s arrival terminal at around 7.11 p.m.

During an inspection, Customs officers discovered 140 cartons of foreign cigarettes, containing a total of 28,000 sticks, concealed inside the passenger’s luggage.Sri Lanka Customs estimated the value of the seized cigarettes at approximately Rs. 4.2 million.Following the detection, Customs ordered the forfeiture of the entire consignment in accordance with the relevant customs regulations.