Sri Lankan authorities have arrested twenty-two Buddhist monks following the discovery of 110 kilograms of high-grade cannabis concealed in their luggage at Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo, in what officials describe as the largest single drug seizure of its kind at the country's main international airport. A twenty-third monk, believed to have organised the operation, was subsequently arrested in a suburb of the capital.

The monks, mostly junior students from temples across Sri Lanka, had returned on Saturday from a four-day all-expenses-paid holiday in Bangkok, Thailand. Customs officials found approximately five kilograms of "kush" — a particularly potent strain of cannabis — hidden within false walls in each monk's luggage, concealed among school supplies and sweets. The total haul has been valued at around 1.1 billion rupees (approximately £2.5 million). Video footage circulating on social media showed monks at the airport attempting to hide their faces with their robes.

The twenty-two monks were remanded in custody for seven days after appearing before a magistrate on Sunday. The organising monk, who did not travel to Thailand himself, had reportedly told the others that the packages were "a donation" and that a van would arrive to collect them — a detail that has led police to believe the travelling monks may not have been fully aware of what they were carrying. Investigators also found photographs on the monks' mobile phones showing them enjoying their holiday in casual civilian clothing, a notable detail given that Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka traditionally wear saffron or orange robes and follow strict codes of conduct.

This appears to be the first time a group of monks has been arrested on suspicion of drug smuggling through a Sri Lankan airport. The case draws uncomfortable comparisons with the arrest last May of Charlotte May Lee, a 21-year-old British woman from south London, who was detained at the same airport carrying 46 kilograms of cannabis also sourced from Bangkok. Lee has maintained that the drugs were planted in her luggage without her knowledge.

The arrests have attracted widespread attention in Sri Lanka, where Buddhism holds deep cultural and social significance and monks command considerable public respect. The incident raises broader questions about the exploitation of religious figures as unwitting — or complicit — couriers in international drug trafficking networks.