A stock of rare herbs used as a component to produce an expensive fragrance was seized by the Police Special Task Force in Kolonnawa last night along with five suspects, police said.
The STF raided two houses on information and recovered a stock of herbs identified as Walapattam, weighing over 13,486 kilograms kept ready to be smuggled out of the country.
Two Indians were reportedly among the arrested suspects and the contraband was believed to be exported to India and then to France to produce fragrances. It is valued over Rs.200 million, the police said.