Two passengers have been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake for attempting to smuggle gold valued at Rs. 210 million.
The suspects had concealed the gold within vehicle spare parts and attempted to pass through the airport’s “Red Channel” designated for businessmen, said Ada Derana reporter.
The arrested individuals include a 26-year-old resident of Grandpass, Colombo, and a 46-year-old resident of Rambukwella, Kandy. Both are reportedly engaged in transporting various goods from overseas to Sri Lanka on behalf of local businessmen.
The duo had arrived at BIA last morning (May 15) at 8.30 a.m. on Emirates Airlines flight EK-650 from Dubai.
Upon inspection, customs officials discovered a stock of gold weighing 6.7 kilograms hidden in the passengers’ luggage.
This included 21 gold biscuits concealed inside two vehicle bearing systems, as well as several gold ingots melted and shaped to resemble parts of a vehicle’s cooling system, specifically water pump components.
In the early hours of today, the suspects, along with the recovered gold, were handed over to Sri Lanka Customs officers at Katunayake Airport for further investigation.
