Sri Lankan authorities caught nearly 60 kilograms of effective synthetic marijuana, a customs official said on Saturday, and foreigners tried to smuggle them in three separate cases this month. Most of the drugs were reportedly seized from a former pilot in England whose work claimed there were more than 100 pounds of drugs in her suitcase.
South Asia has long been considered a crossing point for international drug smugglers, and if guilty, all three suspects from the UK, India and Thailand (from the UK, India and Thailand) could face life imprisonment.
The 21-year-old British woman was arrested on May 12 and customs officials said she was filled with 46 kg (101 lb) Kush (101 lb) in two suitcases, a synthetic drug containing a powerful opioid.
“This is probably the biggest drug bankruptcy recently at Colombo Airport,” said Customs Director General Seevali Arukgoda.
British media, including the BBC, identified the woman as Charlotte May Lee, a former flight attendant in London who flew from Thailand to Sri Lanka.
Her lawyer told the BBC she was detained in a prison near Colombo Airport and had contact with her family.
The BBC reported that she denied knowledge of drugs in her luggage and claimed they were grown in hotels in Bangkok.
Her legal representative Sampath Perera told the BBC that his team visited her in prison every day to provide support and monitor her health.
“I’ve never seen them before [the drugs] forward. I didn't expect it all when they pulled me to the airport. I thought it would fill all my stuff. ” Li told the Daily Mail.
On May 16, a 33-year-old Indian man was arrested in the northern harbour of Kankesanthurai.
Arukgoda said he had already carried four kilograms of Kush.
He has also handed over to the anti-drug police for further investigation.
On May 18, a 21-year-old Thai man stopped at Colombo Airport. He was accused of attempting to smuggle with nearly eight kilograms of Kush.
According to the Associated Press, the drug has caused damage in West African countries in recent years, especially in Sierra Leone. In 2014, Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio declared war on Kush, calling it an epidemic and a national threat.
Sri Lankan authorities have previously seized large quantities of heroin on its shores, saying the island is used as a transit hub for drugs to re-driving narcotics.
In October, a Sri Lankan court sentenced 10 Iranian men to life imprisonment after pleading guilty to pleading guilty to more than 111 kilograms of heroin.
The men were arrested in April 2016 in Sri Lankan waters while delivering narcotics on Iranian fishing trawlers.
In 2023, nine Iranians were sentenced to life imprisonment in another drug smuggling case.
