COLOMBO: Sri Lanka Customs officials have arrested an individual at the Bandaranaike International Airport at Katunayake this morning for attempting to illegally bring palladium metal worth nearly Rs. 2 million. Customs Media Spokesperson Sunil Jayaratne said the officials of the Customs Narcotics Bureau arrested the man arrived in Sri Lanka from Hong Kong on a SriLankan Airlines flight. The suspect is a 51 year old resident of the Colombo area.
The Customs officials have found 617.63 grams of palladium metal concealed in the suspect’s luggage. The value of the stock of metal is determined to be Rs. 1,991,425. Palladium, as valuable as gold, is used for the production of jewellery and special auto parts. Customs officials say this is the first time the palladium metal was found to have illegally brought to Sri Lanka.
