AdvertisementSri LankaAsiaSouth AsiaSri Lanka arrests 22 monks with US$3.5 million worth of cannabis in record haul
Each monk was found with 5kg of kush concealed within false walls in his luggage at Colombo airport
1-MIN READ1-MIN ListenAgence France-PressePublished: 2:46pm, 27 Apr 2026Twenty-two Sri Lankan monks returning from Thailand were arrested on Sunday at the main international airport with 110kg (242lbs) of powerful cannabis, officials said.
A Sri Lanka Customs spokesman said the group, returning home after a four-day holiday in the Thai capital, had kush – a potent, plant-based strain of cannabis – hidden in their luggage.
“Each carried about five kilos of the narcotic concealed within false walls in their luggage,” the spokesman said, adding that the monks had been handed over to police.
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They were taken before a magistrate later on Sunday and ordered to stay in remand for seven days for further investigation.
Sri Lankan monks are taken to a detention centre in Colombo after a court hearing in Negombo on Sunday. Photo: AFPThe monks were mostly young students from temples across Sri Lanka and had been on a holiday sponsored by a businessman.Advertisement
Three of the monks had recruited the rest via social media by promising them free airfare, accommodation and meals, according to Sri Lanka’s Daily Mirror.
