58-year-old passenger arrested with foreign cigarettes at BIA
February 17, 2026 09:28 am
A 58-year-old man has been arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) for attempting to smuggle a stock of foreign cigarettes into the country.
The suspect was arrested earlier this morning (17) during an inspection conducted at the airport’s arrivals terminal based on a tip-off received by officers of the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB), the police said.
Upon inspection, the officers had discovered 12,000 sticks of foreign cigarettes in possession of the suspect.
The arrested suspect has been identified as a 58-year-old resident of Gampola, police said.
The Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) is conducting further investigations into the incident.
