Customs nabs man smuggling gold worth Rs 12 mn

by Dhaneshi Yatawara

A Sri Lankan was arrested by Customs officials yesterday morning (1) at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) while attempting to smuggle gold biscuits worth Rs.12 million into the country. The arrest was made on a tip off by the captain of the aircraft on board the suspect was travelling, due to his suspicious behaviour, said Director Exports and Spokesperson for the Sri Lanka Customs, Leslie Gamini. Customs officials discovered 24 gold biscuits weighing 2.4 kilograms, meticulously concealed in his hand luggage.

The arrested person is a resident of Akurana, Kandy and was travelling from Mumbai on Jet Airways flight (9W256) which reached BIA yesterday at 05.55 a.m.

The case is further being investigated by the Central Investigations Division of the Customs. The gold was handed over to the customs Unit, following preliminary investigations.