Passenger arrested over attempt to smuggle gemstones at BIA

The security officers at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake have seized a consignment of gemstones that a Sri Lankan passenger had attempted to smuggle out of the country.

The officials have found a variety of gemstones, weighing 482.02 grams in total, concealed in the luggage of the passenger, who had arrived at the airport to board a flight to Chennai, India. The gemstones had reportedly been wrapped in sheets of carbon paper in an attempt to avoid being detected by scanners at the airport.

The seized stock of gemstones, believed to be worth around Rs. 1.6 million, has been handed over to Sri Lanka Customs officials along with the suspect for further investigations.