Event: SinhalaandFlora

AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT22 Monks Smuggled 240 Pounds of Cannabis Into Sri Lanka, Officials SayThe group of Buddhist monks were arrested on Saturday at the country’s main international airport after a trip to Thailand that the authorities said was a cover for narcotics trafficking.Monks arriving at a court after their arrest, in Negombo, Sri Lanka, on Sunday.Credit...Ishara S. Kodikara/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesApril 28, 2026The Sri Lankan men, all Buddhist monks, arrived on Saturday at Bandaranaike International Airport with school supplies and candy. But hidden within that cargo was nearly 247 pounds, of cannabis products, according to the local authorities, who called it one of the largest drug seizures ever at the airport.The authorities arrested the 22 monks, who were returning from Thailand, on charges of possession of cannabis, which is illegal for recreational use in Sri Lanka, an island nation southeast of India. The drugs were discovered in the bottoms of their suitcases, and had been “packaged very cleverly,” according to a police spokesman.Each person’s suitcase contained about 11 pounds of illegal drugs, the police spokesman said. The contraband included kush, a strain of cannabis, and hashish, a cannabis concentrate. Daily News, a state-owned newspaper, reported that the stash was worth about $3.45 million.The monks, many of them young men in their 20s, left Sri Lanka for a short trip to Thailand on April 22, according the police. Their flights and accommodation had been paid for; the police said an unnamed businessman had sponsored the trip with the intention of trafficking narcotics.Another monk, who had been waiting to pick the group up at the airport, fled when he learned of the arrests, according go the spokesman. He was arrested on Tuesday in a suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka’s largest city.The monks, who were not identified by the authorities, appeared before a…

Twenty-two Buddhist monks are in Sri Lankan police custody after customs officials found 110kg of high-grade cannabis concealed in their luggage, the largest ever drug bust at Colombo’s main international airport.The group, mostly junior monks in training from temples across Sri Lanka, were alleged to have “carried about five kilos of the narcotic concealed within false walls in their luggage”, according to a Sri Lanka customs spokesperson.The monks had spent four days on holiday in Bangkok and had “kush”, a potent strain of cannabis, hidden in their luggage when returning to Bandaranaike airport on Saturday, the spokesperson said. Video footage posted on social media showed monks at the airport hiding their faces with their robes.The men were handed over to police and were taken before a magistrate on Sunday.It was the largest single detection of kush at the South Asian country’s main international airport, according to officials, with the haul valued at 1.1bn rupees (£2.5m).The local Daily News reported that the monks’ trip had been sponsored, and their phones contained photos of the group enjoying the holiday in “lay clothing”.A 23rd monk, believed to have organised the trip, was arrested in a suburb of Colombo, police told the BBC world service’s Sinhalese station. According to the police spokesperson, the monk, who was not on the trip, told the other monks “these parcels are a donation” and that a van would come to collect the packages, the BBC reported.A 21-year-old British woman was arrested in May last year with 46kg of the drug at the same airport. Charlotte May Lee, 21, from Coulsdon, south London, has said the drugs were planted in her luggage without her knowledge. She was also travelling to Colombo from Bangkok.Agence France-Presse contributed to this report

17 hours agoBBC SinhalaandFlora DruryAFP via Getty ImagesTwo of the arrested monks arriving at court on SundayTwenty-two monks have been arrested at an airport in Sri Lanka after officials discovered 110kg (242lbs) of cannabis concealed in their luggage.Customs officials said each monk was found with around 5kg of Kush - a particularly potent form of the drug - hidden within "false walls" in their luggage when they arrived in the capital Colombo on Saturday.The monks, who were mainly students, were returning from Thailand after being treated to an all-expenses-paid four-day holiday by an unnamed sponsor when they were detained.A 23rd monk, believed to have organised the trip, has since been arrested in a suburb of Colombo, police told BBC Sinhala.According to the acting police spokesman, the monk - who did not join the trip - had told the other monks that "these parcels are a donation" and that a van would come to collect the packages.Sri Lanka's Police Narcotics Bureau discovered photos and videos on the mobile phones of some of the monks, who were from temples across Sri Lanka, showing them enjoying their break wearing casual clothing.PROVIDEDPictures like this one were found on phones belonging to the monks, showing them enjoying their holidayThe 22 monks were remanded in custody for seven days for further questioning after appearing in court on Sunday.Police told BBC Sinhala they believed the monks potentially did not know what they were carrying.The drugs were found in among school supplies and sweets.It is thought to be the first time a group of monks have been arrested on suspicion of smuggling drugs into the country through the airport.