Malaysian passenger arrested at BIA for attempting to smuggle 1.8kg of cocaine

A Malaysian national passenger was arrested this morning (18) by officers of the Customs Narcotics Control Unit for concealing cocaine worth around Rs. 90.8 million inside his luggage at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Katunayake.He had attempted to pass through the "Green Channel" at the arrival terminal when the narcotics were discovered, said Customs officials.The suspect, a 23-year-old man employed at a restaurant in Malaysia, had allegedly smuggled the narcotics into Sri Lanka after agreeing to receive a payment of 10,000 Malaysian Ringgits.According to Customs officials, the suspect had purchased the cocaine in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, travelled to Dubai, and arrived at the Katunayake Airport at around 9.30 a.m. today aboard Emirates flight EK-650.During a search of his luggage, customs officers discovered 1 kilogram and 816 grams of cocaine concealed inside three containers containing chocolate toffees. The narcotics had been carefully packed into 92 pellets.Steps have been taken to hand over the suspect and the seized narcotics to officers of the Police Narcotics Bureau at the Katunayake Airport for further investigations.