22 Buddhist monks arrested at airport after record drug bust
CBS News • • world
Key Points:
- Twenty-two Sri Lankan monks returning from a vacation in Thailand were arrested at the main international airport with 242 pounds of Kush, a potent cannabis strain, concealed in their luggage.
- Each monk carried about five kilograms of the narcotic hidden within false walls in their bags, and they were handed over to police to be presented before a magistrate.
- The group mainly consisted of young students from temples across Sri Lanka, and their trip was sponsored by a businessman.
- This seizure marks the largest detection of Kush at Sri Lanka's main international airport, following previous significant drug busts involving cocaine and heroin in recent years.
- The incident highlights a troubling pattern, as monks have previously been implicated in drug-related offenses, including a 2022 case in Thailand where an entire temple's monks were defrocked for methamphetamine use.
