CrimeEconomyHOTMonday, May 18, 2026

Foreign Cigarette Smuggling Foiled in City; Phone Smuggling Ring Busted at Katunayake Airport

TLDR

14 Chinese nationals arrested May 28 with Rs. 20.7M cigarettes.
18 passengers nabbed May 30 with Rs. 31.3M cigarettes.
13 Chinese caught post-May 30 with 189,600 cigarettes, Rs. 28.4M.
3 Chinese arrested June 3 with Rs. 8.37M cigarettes; phone ring also busted.

Sri Lanka Customs has foiled two major attempts to smuggle foreign cigarettes into the country via Katunayake Airport. On May 13, a 31-year-old Sri Lankan man was arrested with 32,000 cigarettes valued at Rs. 4.8 million, arriving from Sharjah. Just two days later, on May 15, a 26-year-old Chinese businesswoman was apprehended at the same airport with a consignment of cigarettes worth over Rs. 5 million. In a separate incident, on May 17 or 18, a 35-year-old Chinese national was arrested in Kollupitiya with 540 sticks of duty-free cigarettes, following a raid by the Colombo South Divisional Criminal Investigation Unit.

8 Updates

Update #9\u00b7 Jun 4 · 10:15 AM

On June 3rd, 2026, three Chinese nationals (aged 35, 38, and 50), identified as businessmen, were arrested at Katunayake Airport attempting to smuggle foreign-made cigarettes valued at approximately Rs. 8.37 million. They arrived from Kuala Lumpur on SriLankan Airlines flight UL-319 and attempted to use the Green Channel. The consignment consisted of 55,800 cigarettes concealed within 6 travel bags.

Update #8\u00b7 Jun 3 · 5:46 AM

On an unstated date after May 30th, 13 Chinese nationals were apprehended at Katunayake Airport with 189,600 foreign-made cigarettes valued at approximately Rs. 28.44 million. They arrived from Bangkok, Thailand, on Thai AirAsia and Batik Air flights, with the contraband found in 22 bags. Separately, on June 3rd, 2026, three Chinese nationals (aged 35, 38, and 50), identified as businessmen, were arrested at Katunayake Airport attempting to smuggle foreign-made cigarettes valued at approximately Rs. 8.37 million. They arrived from Kuala Lumpur on SriLankan Airlines flight UL-319 and attempted to use the Green Channel.

Update #7\u00b7 May 30 · 9:16 AM

On May 30th, 18 passengers (16 Chinese nationals and two Sri Lankans) were arrested at Katunayake Airport for attempting to smuggle foreign-made cigarettes valued at approximately Rs. 31.38 million. The suspects, who arrived on several flights from Dubai and Kuala Lumpur, are reportedly businessmen and attempted to pass through the Green Channel with the contraband concealed within 27 travel bags.

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