Sri Lankan authorities arrested 22 Buddhist monks at Colombo International Airport after finding 112 kilograms of suspected drugs in their luggage, customs officials reported.
The group was intercepted by officers from the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) on Saturday night upon their arrival from Thailand. “Each carried approximately five kilos of plant material suspected to be narcotics. A total of 112 kilos,” the customs spokesman said on Monday.
The operation was carried out thanks to prior confidential information received by the PNB. For this reason, as soon as they landed, both the passengers and their luggage were immediately taken into custody by this police unit.
Each monk carried about five kilos, hidden in false bottoms of the luggage
The Customs spokesman added that the material was packed in transparent bags, hidden in false bottoms of the luggage.
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The 22 monks were remanded in custody for seven days for further questioning after appearing before the Negombo Magistrate’s Court, a city in the west of the country, on Sunday, police sources told local media The Daily Mirror.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the operation was allegedly coordinated by three monks from a temple in the Jamburaliya area (on the outskirts of Colombo), who had recruited 19 other people through Facebook.
The estimated value of what they were carrying exceeds 1.1 billion rupees (about 3.6 million dollars) and “it was Kush cannabis and hashish,” according to local media.
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