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.
Sri Lanka economic crisis
It is worth mentioning Sri Lanka was hit by an unprecedented financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves, sparking political turmoil in the country which led to the ouster of the all-powerful Rajapaksa family.
The IMF in September last year approved Sri Lanka a USD 2.9 billion bailout package over 4 years pending Sri Lanka’s ability to restructure its debt with creditors - both bilateral and sovereign bondholders. With assurances from creditors, the USD 2.9 billion facilities could get the IMF board approval in March.
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