Sri Lanka Customs officials have arrested a woman at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) along with 02 kilograms and 851 grams of cocaine estimated to be worth over Rs 200 million.
The woman is a citizen of the Philipines.
The officers of the Narcotics Control Unit of Sri Lanka Customs have arrested the Filipino upon arrival in the country from Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa via Doha, Qatar.
The three parcels containing cocaine were found concealed in her luggage along with three other parcels of chili powder, turmeric powder and wheat flour, the customs spokesman said. It has also been revealed that the arrested passenger is a 47-year-old employed as an assistant accountant residing in the Philippines.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect had attempted to smuggle the narcotics following arraignments made through a female friend with contacts to drug traffickers.
Further information have also revealed that in exchange for smuggling the narcotics the drug traffickers have also promised to provide her with USD 1,000 in cash, necessary air tickets to travel and hotel facilities to stay in Sri Lanka for 05 days.
It was also uncovered that the woman had previously smuggled cocaine parcels concealed among parcels containing spices to Malaysia and India.
The arrest was made based on foreign intelligence received by the officers of the Customs Narcotics Control Unit.
