A woman who allegedly attempted to smuggle a consignment of cigarettes into Sri Lanka was arrested by Customs officers at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) today (14).
The woman was taken into custody after attempting to pass through the “Green Channel,” designated for passengers with nothing to declare, at around 6:15 a.m. following her arrival at Katunayake Airport.
The arrested woman, a 45-year-old resident of the Kandy area, had reportedly returned to Sri Lanka after working as a domestic worker in Saudi Arabia for two years.
According to Customs officials, she had purchased the consignment of cigarettes in Sharjah before returning to Sri Lanka upon completing her employment.
Customs officers discovered 176 cartons containing 35,200 foreign-manufactured cigarettes concealed in four pieces of luggage carried by the woman. The consignment was estimated to be worth approximately Rs. 5.28 million.
Following a formal Customs investigation, the consignment was confiscated, and the woman was ordered to pay a fine of Rs. 100,000.
