Sri Lankan MP arrested with gold worth SLR 65 lakh at Colombo airport

Sri Lankan opposition parliamentarian Ali Sabry Raheem was arrested on Tuesday at the Colombo international airport for carrying 3.5 kilograms of unaccounted gold.

The airport customs authority detained Raheem at the VIP lounge for possession of 3.5 kilograms of gold worth over SLR 65 lakh, officials said.

He arrived in Sri Lanka from the Middle East, the state-run Daily News newspaper reported. Raheem, a member of the Muslim minority party, All Ceylon Makkal Congress, was elected to Parliament in August 2020.