Chinese Duo Caught at Katunayake Airport After Pilfering Monk's Funds Mid-Flight

 Two Chinese nationals, who allegedly stole a stash of foreign currency worth approximately four hundred and ninety-three thousand eight hundred and fifty-five rupees belonging to a Buddhist monk on a flight from Abu Dhabi, were arrested yesterday (25) by the Katunayake Airport Police. 

Digalle Mahinda Thero, a teacher residing at a temple in the Peradeniya area, encountered this incident yesterday morning around 10:05 AM, upon his arrival in Katunayake on Etihad Airways flight EY-392 from Abu Dhabi.

While the flight was en route to Katunayake, the monk went to the lavatory. Taking advantage of this opportunity, two Chinese nationals on the plane reportedly searched the travel bag located on the rack near the monk's seat.

At that moment, as the monk returned to his seat, the suspects left the area, but no further investigation was conducted at that time.

After the plane landed at Katunayake Airport, when the monk checked his travel bag to retrieve necessary documents for clearance, it was discovered that 250 Euros, 100 Sterling Pounds, 250 US Dollars, and 3,850 Malaysian Ringgit were missing. The monk immediately reported the incident to the Katunayake Airport Police, and together, the police and the monk reviewed the security camera footage.

The footage revealed the two Chinese nationals leaving the airport and fleeing in a three-wheeler. With the assistance of airport three-wheeler associations, police officers acted swiftly, pursued the suspects, and successfully apprehended them along with the stolen foreign currency.

The arrested suspects have been identified as Chen Min Min and Chen Kriu, aged 31 and 58 respectively. During questioning, it was revealed that they had planned to use the stolen money to gamble at a casino in Colombo today (26).

The Katunayake Airport Police are conducting further investigations into the incident, and the suspects are scheduled to be produced before the Colombo No. 01 Magistrate's Court today.

Two Chinese nationals who stole local and foreign currency from a passenger's handbag on a flight arriving at Katunayake Airport from Thailand were also arrested in April 2025.
Prior to that, in March 2025, an incident was reported where foreign currency worth nearly 50 lakhs (5 million) rupees was stolen from the handbags of five individuals, including three doctors and a bank official, who were traveling on an airline belonging to a company located in Kollupitiya, to attend a medical conference held in Dubai.