Two US nationals of Korean descent, a mother and a son who attempted to smuggle foreign currency, gold slabs, gold coins and jewellery worth Rs.113 million to Malaysia were taken into custody at the Bandaranaike International Airport by the Airport Customs this morning.

Airport Customs seized gold worth around Rs.110 million as well as foreign currency worth nearly Rs.2.6 million this morning. Customs officials said that the gold weighs 16 kilogrammes.

They were arrested when they were attempting to smuggle the seized items on a flight bound to Kuala Lampur at around 12.30am. The gold and the currency were hidden in two travelling bags.

They had intended to smuggle the large quantity of gold and foreign currency on board the flight. The mother and her son were arrested while in the transit terminal.

The foreign currency has been estimated to be worth around Rs.2.6 million. The gold is close to Rs.110 million but it is still under valuation, the Airport Customs said.

The investigations are being conducted under the directions of Assistant Superintended of Customs Charitha Hettigoda, Wimal Piyasumana and P.S. Chandrasiri. (Supun Dias and Deepa Adikari)