By Kurulu Koojana Kariyakarawana

A British national who was returning from Thailand was nabbed by the Sri Lanka Customs at the Bandaranaike International Airport yesterday morning with a large quantity of Cannabis variety ‘Kush’ worth over Rs.280 million.   

The Customs officials stationed at the BIA Arrival Terminal on suspicion searched the foreigner who was trying to leave the airport through the ‘Nothing to declare’ green channel when they found the narcotics with him.   According to Customs sources, the passenger of Asian descent who bore a United Kingdom passport had been carrying three bags filled with 43.6 kilogrammes of Kush, which had been valued at Rs.283, 400, 000. A gram of Kush has a street value between Rs.6, 500 to 7, 000 in Sri Lanka.   

The passenger had arrived in the country on SriLankan Airlines flight UL 403 from Bangkok and was aged 21 years.   

A senior official of the Customs Narcotic Control Unit told the Daily Mirror that they suspect the seized stock of drugs were not meant for Sri Lanka as it is highly unlikely a smuggler would hand carry such a large amount of Kush.    Preliminary investigations have revealed that the suspect was allegedly planning to take a different flight back home from Colombo as heavy surveillance is in place at UK airports for flights that are returning from Bangkok owing to the narcotics smuggling operations.   

The passenger would be detained for further inquiries, the Customs said.