Sri Lanka, May 20 -- Three Chinese nationals were arrested by Sri Lanka Customs officials at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake while allegedly attempting to smuggle a stock of mobile phones and batteries into the country, Customs said.

The suspects two 35-year-old men and a 34-year-old woman had arrived from Shanghai, China on China Eastern flight MU 6017 at around 6.43 p.m. yesterday (19).

According to Customs officials, the group attempted to leave the airport through the Green Channel designated for passengers with "nothing to declare." During inspections, officers became suspicious of a tulip-patterned carrier bag mixed among several duty-free shopping bags containing chocolates and toffees.

Upon inspection...