PNB foils attempt made to smuggle gold biscuits worth Rs 100 million from BIA

An attempt to smuggle gold biscuits worth more than Rs 100 million into the country by an employee of a duty free shop  at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) with the help of a passenger who arrived from Australia was thwarted by authorities

The passenger who arrived on flight UL 307 at 11.30 am yesterday was searched by Police Narcotocs Bureau (PNB) officials at the BIA when he was about to leave the airport with goods purchased from the duty free.

The Police found 99 gold biscuits concealed in a box carrying  an electric fan which had reportedly been purchased at a duty free shop was arrested by the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) and handed over to the Customs.

The passenger a civil engineer by profession had returned to the island with his mother and had visited one of the duty free shops to purchase a fridge , when a staffer  at one of the shops had made a special request to purchase a fan on his behalf. 

The passenger had allegedly agreed to carry the fan and have it collected at a later date by the staffer without the knowledge that the box contained the gold biscuits.

The male passenger along with the duty free staffer were arrested and handed over to the Customs at the BIA

Investigations into the case and the duty free shop employee are being carried out by BIA Customs.