Abandoned bags with kush worth Rs320m found at BIA
Police Narcotics Bureau officers found two abandoned bags holding 60 airtight packets of kush cannabis near baggage belt 6 at Bandaranaike International Airport on the morning of 15 September 2026. Police suspect the bags came off SriLankan Airlines flight UL 405 from Bangkok the previous day; the passenger is believed to have fled.
🇱🇰 Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake · Sri Lanka
Officers of the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) airport unit seized a stock of
kush cannabis estimated to be worth about Rs320 million after it was found
inside luggage abandoned near baggage belt number 6 at Bandaranaike
International Airport (BIA) on the morning of 15 September 2026.[1]
The narcotics had been packed into 60 airtight packets and concealed inside
two pieces of luggage.[1]
Police suspect the luggage was brought into Sri Lanka by a passenger who
arrived at BIA the previous day on SriLankan Airlines flight UL 405 from
Bangkok, Thailand.[1]The passenger is believed to have abandoned the two
bags and fled after fearing arrest at the airport.[1]No arrest was
reported.[1]
The seized stock was scheduled to be produced before the Negombo
Magistrate’s Court the same day.[1]
Photos and video
Seized airtight kush packets laid out on the baggage belt with one of the abandoned suitcasesPhoto details
Sri Lanka Police said 597,964 drug-related operations over the past two years involved 596,591 suspects and recovered 43,726 kilograms of narcotics, of which 28,441 kilograms was cannabis. Police valued the whole haul at about Rs. 224 billion and also reported 4,056 firearms and weapons seized in the same period.
Sri Lanka Customs opened nine uncollected foreign postal parcels at the Central Mail Exchange in Colombo and seized kush, hashish, ecstasy and cocaine worth Rs 60.26 million. The parcels came from Thailand, Spain, Britain and the US; the drugs went to the Police Narcotic Bureau.
Sri Lanka Customs found 2.4 kg of cannabis and 12.4 kg of hashish worth Rs 157 million hidden inside wooden table boards shipped from Thailand as a gift. A 29-year-old suspect from Ragama was taken into Customs custody.
The Sri Lanka Navy intercepted a dinghy in Jaffna's Gurunagar lagoon and reported recovering over 192 kg of foreign cannabis in 88 parcels packed into seven sacks. One suspect and the seizure were handed to the Jaffna police for further legal action.
