By: Joseph Momoh, Reporter
A Sierra Leonean passenger was arrested at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Sri Lanka after attempting to smuggle in 59 pellets of cocaine valued at over Rs. 40 million.
The suspect arrived on Turkish Airlines flight TK730 from Istanbul on Tuesday morning and was stopped while trying to exit through the green channel. Customs officials, suspicious of his behavior, detained him for questioning, according to Customs Spokesman and Additional Director General, Seevali Arukgoda.
Members of the Customs Narcotics Control Unit subsequently admitted the passenger to Negombo Hospital, where 17 pellets of cocaine were initially retrieved later that day. A senior Customs narcotics detective informed the Daily Mirror that the suspect was transferred to the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) for further investigation, and a court order was obtained to retrieve additional pellets.
In his initial statement, the 32-year-old suspect admitted to swallowing a total of 59 pellets. By the time of reporting, officials, with the assistance of hospital staff, had successfully extracted 56 pellets, amounting to nearly one kilogram of cocaine.
The drugs seized have been valued at Rs. 40 million, with a street value of Rs. 40,000 per gram. The detective noted that this was the suspect’s first visit to Sri Lanka, and he had been reportedly paid to act as a narcotics carrier, awaiting pickup by a local operative from a major drug syndicate.
Preliminary investigations revealed a connection to another Sierra Leonean who had been apprehended by the PNB just a week earlier at the Pinnaduwa Interchange of the Southern Expressway with a cocaine shipment.
The arrested passenger will remain in custody for further inquiries by the PNB.