Sri Lanka, June 11 -- A bus conductor employed on a private passenger bus operating between Tangalle and Makumbura on the Southern Expressway has died after a packet of suspected narcotics reportedly burst inside his stomach, police said.

The deceased was identified as Bassnayake Gunaratne, a 51-year-old father of one from Koratuwa, Rukthennagala, Modarawana.

According to police, the victim had been working as a temporary conductor on a private bus travelling from Tangalle to Makumbura. After spending the night in Colombo, he had returned to Tangalle on a bus from Makumbura.

Upon arriving in Tangalle, he handed over the bus keys and the day's cash collection to the owner and later attended a funeral in the town.

While there, he had s...