Ugandan man who ingested cocaine-filled capsules arrested at BIA

A Ugandan national who had attempted to smuggle a number of capsules containing cocaine into the country after swallowing them, has been arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake.

The 31-year-old suspect has been arrested by the officers of Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) at the Katunayake Airport on Saturday (08), based on foreign intelligence received regarding the passenger.

The arrested suspect, who reportedly engages in the carpentry profession, had arrived in Sri Lanka from Kampala, Uganda via Doha, Qatar and had reached the island at around 9.00 a.m. on Saturday.

The passenger was subjected to a scan following his arrest while it was then confirmed that he has swallowed a number of cocaine-filled capsules.

It is reported that after the suspect was admitted to the Negombo Hospital, as of now he has passed about 45 capsules of cocaine, weighing about 450g in total and estimated to be worth around Rs. 10 million, through his digestive system.

As it has been confirmed through the scans that there are more similar capsules filled with cocaine in the stomach of the suspect, the doctors of the Negombo Hospital are still giving him laxatives and attempting to extract them.

The Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) is investigating the incident.