Coast Guard foils gold smuggling attempt

The Coast Guard with the assistance of the Navy intercepted two persons attempting to smuggle 5.5 kg of gold out of Sri Lanka in the seas off Karainagar in the Northern Sea on Friday.  

According to the Navy, two suspects aged 30 and 32 were intercepted 14.5 nautical miles off the Kovilan Lighthouse in Karainagar while attempting to smuggle the gold in a dinghy boat. The interception was made possible by a tip-off received by the Northern Naval Command. Both suspects and the gold have been handed over to the Customs Office in Jaffna for further investigation.

In 2018 the Navy intercepted 50.2 kg of gold being smuggled to India via sea. In the first three months of 2019, 31.5 kg of gold, estimated to be worth Rs. 200 million (2019 value) was intercepted by the Navy.