Sri Lanka, July 28 -- A large consignment of foreign-manufactured cigarettes valued at Rs. 50 million was seized today (28) by officers of the Central Intelligence Directorate of Sri Lanka Customs while it was being transported through the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake.

The contraband was en-route to the Cargo Village in transit for shipment to Australia and England.

This marks the largest and first-ever seizure of illicit cigarettes in the history of both the Katunayake Airport and its Cargo Village, according to Sri Lanka Customs.

The consignment had been falsely declared as "towels" and "plastic cups" and was intended to be shipped from Dubai to London, Sydney, and Melbourne on 9 and 11 January last year.

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