LNP – Thai woman arrested at BIA with Rs. 510 million worth of cocaine hidden in teddy bears

A female passenger from Thailand was arrested early this morning at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) for attempting to smuggle a large stock of cocaine concealed inside teddy bears.

The suspect, a 38-year-old self-employed woman, arrived at the airport from Doha, Qatar at 2:00 a.m. on a Qatar Airways flight. Acting on a tip-off, narcotics officers attached to the airport apprehended her at the arrival lounge.

Upon inspecting her luggage, officers discovered 500 capsules of cocaine weighing 10 kilograms and 323 grams, hidden within three stuffed cloth dolls (teddy bears) filled with cotton.

Preliminary estimates place the street value of the narcotics haul at Rs. 510.66 million, making it the largest drug seizure in the history of Katunayake Airport, according to a senior officer from the Customs Narcotics Control Division.

The seized drugs and the arrested Thai national have been handed over to the Katunayake Airport Police Narcotics Bureau for further investigations.