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Police Seize $3.5 M Kush from Sri Lankan Monks at Airport

4/27/2026

24 3 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

Police seized 110 kg of Kush, valued at $3.5 million, hidden in false panels inside the luggage of 22 Sri Lankan Buddhist monks—each with about five kilograms—and arrested them at Colombo airport.
A businessman sponsored the monks’ four-day Bangkok holiday, while a 23rd monk who organized the trip was arrested in a Colombo suburb after saying parcels were a donation.
The arrested monks were mostly young students returning from the sponsored trip.

History

Historical Context

After Sri Lanka’s 1995 Narcotic Drugs (Control) Act created the Police Narcotics Bureau, which seized 1,200 kg of heroin worth about $150 million, the country has continued battling drug flows. The recent interception of 110 kg of cannabis hidden by Buddhist monks mirrors a broader 1990s trend, exemplified by Germany’s Narcotic Drugs Act that categorises substances into three schedules.

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Story summary

Police seized 110 kg of Kush, valued at $3.5 million, hidden in false panels inside the luggage of 22 Sri Lankan Buddhist monks—each with about five kilograms—and arrested them at Colombo airport.
A businessman sponsored the monks’ four-day Bangkok holiday, while a 23rd monk who organized the trip was arrested in a Colombo suburb after saying parcels were a donation.
The arrested monks were mostly young students returning from the sponsored trip.

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