Twenty-two Buddhist monks are in Sri Lankan police custody after customs officials discovered 110kg of high-grade cannabis concealed in their luggage, marking the largest drug bust at Colombo's main international airport.
Details of the Seizure
The group, mostly junior monks in training from temples across Sri Lanka, were alleged to have concealed approximately five kilograms of the narcotic within false walls in their luggage, according to a Sri Lanka customs spokesperson. The monks had spent four days on holiday in Bangkok and were returning to Bandaranaike airport on Saturday when the kush, a potent strain of cannabis, was detected. Video footage posted on social media showed the monks at the airport hiding their faces with their robes.
The men were handed over to police and appeared before a magistrate on Sunday. This was the largest single detection of kush at the South Asian country's main international airport, with the haul valued at 1.1 billion rupees (approximately £2.5 million).
Background and Investigation
The local Daily News reported that the monks' trip had been sponsored, and their phones contained photos of the group enjoying the holiday in lay clothing. A 23rd monk, believed to have organised the trip, was arrested in a suburb of Colombo. According to police, the monk, who was not on the trip, told the others that the parcels were a donation and that a van would collect them.
This incident follows the arrest of a 21-year-old British woman, Charlotte May Lee from Coulsdon, south London, in May last year, who was found with 46kg of the same drug at the same airport. Lee has claimed the drugs were planted in her luggage without her knowledge. She was also travelling to Colombo from Bangkok.
