BIA braces for special drug busting operations during New Year

• President instructs top airport officials to curb corrupt practices at BIA to make no room for drug smuggling 

By Kurulu Koojana Kariyakarawana   

Law enforcement agencies at the country’s busiest airport Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake are bracing for special narcotic busting operations in the New Year season, as dangerous drugs like cocaine and ice flowing freely with the inbound visitors is seen on the rise, the Daily Mirror learns.   

This comes in the wake of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake holding a special meeting with senior airport law enforcement officials on Saturday to counter the drug menace and unlawful goods entering the country.

Top law enforcement agencies that man the BIA including Sri Lanka Customs, Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB), Airport and Aviation Services Sri Lanka Security and even the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) unit are to strengthen their routine deployment of personnel especially during the first few weeks of the New Year owing to any large scale attempts of drug smuggling, the BIA sources said.   

The authorities are looking into the instances of smuggling of dangerous drugs like Methamphetamine, Cocaine, Kush Cannabis as well as illegally imported foreign cigarettes, which the use and sale is prohibited in Sri Lanka.   

Special measures have been taken in response to a series of such attempts in the recent times where individual passengers would freely walk into the country through the ‘Nothing to declare’ green channel with large portions of these drugs and fags simply stored in their baggage.   

The agencies will especially keep a close eye on those who are coming from the African region, the Middle East and certain South East Asian countries to thwart narcotic smuggling efforts.   

The latest of such incidents being a female African passenger arriving from Ghana who was busted at in the early hours of yesterday at the Arrival Terminal for while trying to bring in over four kilos of Cocaine concealed in her baggage.   

Sri Lanka Customs Narcotic Control Unit officials on suspicion searched the foreigner to find the contraband weighing up to 4,068 grams and with an estimated street value of Rs.142 million. A gram of Cocaine is being sold at Rs.35,000 amongst the users.   

According to Customs Media Spokesman Additional Director General of Customs Seevali Arukgoda the female passenger had a South African passport in her possession and arrived in the country on Qatar airways flight QR 658 around 1.50am yesterday.   

 The 41-year-old suspect had been handed over to the PNB officials along with the contraband for further investigations.