COLOMBO, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan Customs destroyed illegally imported foreign cigarettes worth 1.2 billion rupees (approximately 4 million U.S. dollars) on Tuesday, a senior official said.
The cigarettes confiscated in 2018, 2022, and 2024 were destroyed in Colombo. According to Customs spokesman Seevali Arukgoda, the authorities seized 8.7 million cigarettes in total over those three years.
He said the agency plans to invest in modern equipment powered by artificial intelligence to improve container scanning and enhance contraband detection. ■