Sri Lankan smuggling live fish from Singapore stopped at BIA

Colombo, August 10 (Daily Mirror)- A local man trying to bring in a stock of live marine species from Singapore without declaring to the Sri Lanka Customs was stopped at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) this morning. 

Customs officials stationed at the BIA Arrival Terminal on suspicion intercepted a passenger who tried to use the ‘nothing to declare’ green channel to leave the airport. 

The traveller had arrived in the country on Singapore Airlines flight SQ 468 around 1.00 am today with several bags. 

The Customs searched the man’s baggage to find 365 varieties of live marine animals including fish, squid and shrimp as well as tortoises. 

The animals had been carefully stored in polythene sacks half filled with water. 

Importing live animals without declaring to the Customs is an offense and the suspect along with the contraband had been transferred to the Customs Bio Diversity, Cultural and National Heritage Protection Branch (BCNP) at the airport for further investigations. 

Customs Spokesman Additional Director General Seevali Arukgoda told the Daily Mirror that the suspect was a 50-year-old trader from the Thalawathugoda area.