Sri Lankan customs officials at the port recently uncovered more than 200,000 Chinese-made cigarettes hidden inside the metal doors of an imported shipping container. By local estimates, the haul has a market value of over 30 million rupees.
The bust went down when the customs revenue task force flagged a suspicious container. Upon tearing open the door panels, officers found them packed tight. It was a classic smuggling attempt—stuffing the hollow layers to dodge customs checks and evade duties.
The customs special investigations unit has taken over the case and is digging into the shipment's origins and who was behind it. Around the docks here, this kind of concealment trick is an old game that customs keeps running into every few weeks.
