Twenty-year old arrested at BIA with foreign cigarettes

A person has been arrested by Customs officials attached to the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) over an attempt to smuggle in foreign cigarettes.

The arrested 20 year old from Ihala Kottaramulla had been arriving from Dubai when he was apprehended over the offense.

He had concealed in 20,000 foreign cigarettes contained in 100 cartons within his travelling bags. The value of the seized cigarettes is estimated to be nearly Rs 1.1 million, according to the Customs.

Following further investigations, the Customs officials declared the haul of cigarettes forfeit and imposed a penalty of Rs 50,000 on the suspect.