Three individuals have been apprehended by Customs officials at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) for smuggling in 213 cartons of foreign cigarettes valued over Rs 2.1 million, stated Customs Media Spokesperson.
One of the arrestees is a woman aged 38 years and a resident in Kurunegala area.
She had arrived from Singapore, on August 26 at 2.30 a.m. via a flight belonging to Emirates (EK-349) and smuggled in 23 cartons of cigarettes worth Rs 257,400.
The second suspect is revealed to be a 33-year-old businesswoman residing in Aluthgama, arriving from Bangalore, India.
Eighty-nine cartons of cigarettes worth Rs 890,000 have been found in possession of her.
The third suspect, who had been employed in Singapore, is reportedly a 42-year-old male residing in Marawila area.
He had arrived at BIA from Singapore and had been in possession of 101 cartons of cigarettes worth over Rs 1 million.
The complete haul had contained 20,200 of foreign-manufactured cigarettes, stated the Customs Media Spokesperson.
The stock of cigarettes has been declared forfeit by the Customs Officials and the two female suspects have been imposed a penalty of Rs 10,000 each, while the male suspect was imposed a penalty of Rs 25,000.
