Two men arrested at BIA with Rs. 210 million worth of gold hidden in vehicle parts

Two men arrested at BIA with Rs. 210 million worth of gold hidden in vehicle parts

Two Sri Lankan men were arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) yesterday (May 15) for trying to smuggle gold worth Rs. 210 million.

The gold, weighing 6.7 kilograms, was hidden inside vehicle spare parts in their luggage.

The two suspects, a 26-year-old from Grandpass, Colombo, and a 46-year-old from Rambukwella, Kandy, had arrived from Dubai on Emirates flight EK-650 at 8:30 AM.

Both are known to transport goods from abroad for local businessmen.

They were stopped while passing through the airport’s ‘Red Channel’, a section meant for those carrying dutiable goods. Officers from the Airport Criminal Investigation Department (CID) found the gold during a search.

Among the seized items were 21 gold biscuits hidden inside two vehicle bearing systems. Several gold ingots were also found, melted and reshaped to fit into water pump parts used in vehicle cooling systems.

The suspects and the gold were handed over to Sri Lanka Customs at Katunayake for further investigations.