22 Monks Arrested with 110 kg Cannabis at Sri Lanka Airport

Sri Lankan authorities arrested 22 Buddhist monks at Bandaranaike International Airport near Colombo on Saturday after discovering approximately 110 kilograms of cannabis, including potent strains of kush and hashish, hidden in their luggage. The group had arrived from Bangkok, Thailand, in what police described as the largest drug seizure in the airport's history.

Customs officers uncovered the narcotics during routine inspections around 10 p.m. Each monk was carrying about 5 kilograms of the substance, concealed within false walls and bottoms of suitcases packed alongside school supplies and sweets to mask its presence. The monks, mostly young students from temples and institutions across Sri Lanka, including areas such as Ampara, Horana, Boralesgamuwa, Wadduwa, Warakapola, Piliyandala, Homagama, Athuraliya, Ambalangoda, Kudispaththuwa, Madapatha and Balangoda, had traveled to Thailand on April 22 for a four-day trip fully funded by an unidentified sponsor.

Police later arrested a 23rd monk in a Colombo suburb, believed to have organized the journey. Investigators said he instructed the group that the parcels were donations for which a van would collect them upon arrival, and...