Sri Lanka Customs officers at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Katunayake, arrested a businessman on February 2 for allegedly attempting to bypass currency declaration procedures with a large haul of foreign cash valued at more than Rs. 22.4 million.
Customs sources said the suspect, a 48-year-old resident of Akurana in Kandy, had arrived from Bangalore, India, on IndiGo Airlines flight 6E-1183 at around 8.00 a.m. He was taken into custody while exiting the arrival terminal via the Green Channel, which is reserved for passengers with nothing to declare.
A subsequent inspection of his belongings led to the recovery of EUR 48,900, US$ 14,000, and Indian Rupees 26,650, which had allegedly been concealed to avoid detection.
The suspect remains in the custody of Katunayake Airport Customs, while further investigations are being carried out to determine the source of the funds and the intent behind the attempted smuggling.
