Foreign national nabbed with rare seashells

Rasika Somarathna

A foreign national who attempted to smuggle a stock of a rare variety of seashells was nabbed by sleuths of the Customs Bio-Diversity Unit at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) on Wednesday evening.

Deputy Director of Customs and Spokesman Lesly Gamini said, the man, a national who attempted to board a flight to Shanghai had in his possession six kilos of rare seashells protected under the Fauna & Flora Protection Ordinance. “It seashells are valued at over Rs.two million,” he added.

Experts say smuggling of rare seashells from Sri Lanka has become a lucrative trade as they have a big demand in certain international markets. As a result, seashells protected under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance, face the threat of becoming extinct. In a separate incident, Customs sleuths had also nabbed two US citizens at the departure lounge, who had an ancient deer antler in their possession.

“The stock of seashells and the deer antler were confiscated and investigations are continuing,” Gamini said. The detections were made by Assistant Customs Director Asanka Priyadarshana and investigations are being made under the guidance of Customs Deputy Director Athula Lankadeva.