Overview
- The group, which was intercepted Saturday after landing from Thailand on a confidential tip, was stopped in what officials called the largest drug haul recorded at the terminal.
- Officers found packets hidden in double‑bottom luggage with about five kilograms per person, totaling 112 kilograms of suspected Kush cannabis and hashish pending lab confirmation.
- A Negombo magistrate remanded all 22 in custody for seven days as investigators continue questioning and keep the seized material secured.
- Preliminary inquiries point to three monks from a Jamburaliya temple who allegedly organized the trip, recruited about 19 others via Facebook, and used tickets paid for by an unnamed sponsor.
- Police are testing for possible links to wider trafficking networks, and local reports say some young trainees may have been duped with promises of free travel in a country where drug crimes bring severe prison terms.