Bolivian with liquid cocaine valued at Rs.230 mn arrested

Customs officers at the Katunayake Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) recovered a stock of liquid cocaine with a street value of over Rs.230 million in the possession of a Bolivian female passenger who had attempted to enter the country last morning.

It was reported that she had soaked the inner parts of her backpack

and the clothes carried in the backpack in liquid cocaine and dried them in order to smuggle them into the country.

Customs officers had checked this passenger on suspicion and about 4.6 kilograms of cocaine substances were recovered, the Customs officers said.

The 26-year-old suspect has confessed to the authorities that she was instructed by some other party to smuggle these narcotics into Sri Lanka promising to pay her US$ 500.

Sri Lanka Customs Media Spokesman, Senior Director of Customs Sudatta Silva, the suspect had arrived at Katunayake from Brazil via Dubai by the Emirates flight EK-650.

The smugglers use some chemicals to separate the cocaine substances from the soaked clothes, the officers revealed. It was reported that she was arrested during her maiden overseas visit made using her Bolivian passport.

Once in the country, another person was to meet her outside the airport premises and receive the backpack with these narcotics from her, she had confessed.

The Narcotics Control Unit of Sri Lanka Customs officers along with the Police Narcotics Bureau are conducting investigations into the incident.