Sri Lanka Customs has seized 39 drones and 16 microphones brought into the country from Singapore by opposition parliamentarian Nalin Bandara without the approvals required to import them, Customs media spokesperson Chandana Punchihewa said.

The equipment was detained at Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake after the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP arrived from Singapore aboard SriLankan Airlines flight UL 307, landing at 11.23 a.m., the Daily Mirror reported.

According to Punchihewa, the drones had been brought in without an import control licence, without approval from the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) and without clearance from the Ministry of Defence. All three are required before drones may be imported into Sri Lanka.

Hiru News reported the same seizure in Sinhala, giving the same three approving authorities, the same flight number and arrival time, and the same counts of 39 drones and 16 microphones. Hiru said the equipment was being held because the required approval documents were not produced.

The two accounts differ on when the seizure took place. The Daily Mirror says it happened on the morning of 11 August, while Hiru says the MP arrived at Katunayake on Sunday, 8 November, the day both filings were published. Every other detail in the two accounts matches, and a third account of the same Customs statement gives no date at all for the seizure. What is not in dispute is that the Customs disclosure itself was made on Sunday.

Neither report says what the drones were intended for, what their declared or assessed value was, or what make and model they were. Neither says whether the MP has been charged, fined or required to pay any penalty, nor whether the equipment may be released once the approvals are produced. Bandara has not commented in either report, and no statement from the SJB is included.

Drones are controlled imports in Sri Lanka, requiring clearance from the telecom regulator and the Ministry of Defence in addition to an import licence. Unauthorised drone use has drawn enforcement action before, including the arrest of a drone operator and warnings from the Civil Aviation Authority about flying drones and lasers near aircraft.

Customs is continuing its procedures in relation to the seized consignment, and further updates are expected as officials complete their assessment and decide on the appropriate course of action.

The case has drawn public attention because Bandara is a sitting opposition parliamentarian, and because drones are classified as controlled items in Sri Lanka, subject to strict rules on their importation, possession and use. Customs officials have been stepping up inspections of drone technology and related electronic equipment to ensure compliance with national regulations.