Sri Lankan authorities made a stunning narcotics seizure at the country's main international airport Sunday, arresting 22 Buddhist monks returning from a holiday in Bangkok with what customs officials are calling a record haul of powerful cannabis.
The monks, mostly young students from temples across Sri Lanka, were detained after officials discovered approximately 242 pounds of Kush — a potent, plant-based cannabis strain — concealed in false-bottomed luggage.
"Each carried about five kilos of the narcotic concealed within false walls in their luggage," a Sri Lanka Customs spokesman stated, explaining that the sophisticated smuggling method suggests deliberate trafficking rather than accidental transport.
The group had been on a four-day sponsored vacation in Thailand's capital when they allegedly acquired the contraband. According to customs officials, the businessman who sponsored the trip remains under investigation as authorities work to determine whether he coordinated the smuggling operation or was unaware of his guests' actions.
The monks were transferred to police custody and were scheduled to appear before a magistrate later Sunday. The seizure marks the largest single detection of Kush at Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport in recorded history, officials confirmed.
Rising Trend of Large Drug Seizures
Sunday's arrest underscores Sri Lanka's ongoing struggle with international drug trafficking. Just last May, British traveller Charlotte May Lee was arrested at the same airport carrying 101 pounds of Kush. Lee claimed the drugs were planted in her luggage at a Bangkok hotel, though she acknowledged she was unaware of their presence.
The previous record cocaine seizure occurred in June 2025, when customs agents arrested an unnamed 38-year-old Thai woman carrying 22 pounds of cocaine stuffed inside three plush toys. Sri Lankan authorities have also intercepted numerous shipments of heroin and other narcotics smuggled via small fishing boats in recent years.
International Pattern of Monk Involvement
This is not the first time Buddhist monks have been implicated in drug-related crimes across South and Southeast Asia. In 2022, every single monk at a prominent Buddhist temple in central Thailand was defrocked after testing positive for methamphetamine. The monks were transferred to a health clinic for drug rehabilitation.
Myanmar authorities made headlines in 2017 when they arrested a Buddhist monk following the discovery of more than 4 million methamphetamine pills hidden in his vehicle and monastery premises — one of the largest religious figure drug cases on record.
Religious scholars and Buddhist leaders have expressed concern about these incidents, with some temple authorities implementing stricter vetting and drug-testing protocols for monks engaged in international travel.
This article is based on reporting from CBS News and Agence France-Presse.