Shock erupted as 22 Sri Lankan monks werearrestedat the country’s main international airport after returning from a holiday inThailand, with officials seizing 242 pounds of powerfulcannabisfrom their luggage, according to customs officials. Sri Lanka Customs officials noted the group had flown home after a four-day trip to Bangkok when they were stopped on arrival.
A customs official explained: "The monks were found to have Kush — a potent, plant-based strain of cannabis — concealed in their baggage. Each individual was allegedly carrying about five kilos of the drug hidden inside false compartments in their suitcases."
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The monks were then handed over to police and were to be produced before a magistrate later on Sunday.
A customs official added: "The seizure was the largest single detection of Kush at the country’s main international airport."
The case comes amid a series of major drug interceptions at the same airport in recent years, reportedCBS.
In May, a British woman was arrested with 101 pounds of the drug at the same airport after travelling from Bangkok to Colombo, later claiming she was unaware of the drugs and that they may have been planted at her hotel.
In June 2025, authorities seized what was described as the largest haul of cocaine ever detected at the airport from a 38-year-old Thai woman carrying about 22 pounds of cocaine hidden in plush toys.
Sri Lankan authorities have also intercepted large quantities of heroin and other narcotics smuggled via fishing boats in recent years. The latest arrests are not the first involving monks in drug-related cases.
Source: Daily Express :: World Feed
