If Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Nalin Bandara Jayamaha was planning a major aerial campaign, Sri Lanka Customs just grounded the entire operation right at the arrival gate.
Customs officials at Bandaranaike International Airport detained a luggage load of thirty-nine drones brought into the island by the opposition lawmaker upon his return from Singapore. According to Customs Spokesperson Chandana Punchihewa, the fleet was impounded on the spot after the MP failed to present the necessary regulatory paperwork required to clear high-tech flying equipment through the green channel.
The detention has triggered a bureaucratic paper hunt. Authorities instructed the parliamentarian to secure and submit formal clearance certificates from a trifecta of state agencies: the Department of Import and Export Control, the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC), and the Ministry of Defence. Until those stamps of approval arrive, all thirty-nine aircraft will remain locked in Customs storage.
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The sheer volume of the haul naturally raises a few curious eyebrows across the political establishment. Bringing a single drone home from a trip to Singapore is standard retail therapy for any tech enthusiast, but lugging nearly forty unit devices through airport customs pushes into commercial logistics territory. Whether the MP was acquiring hardware for high-definition election campaign footage, agricultural mapping, or simply stocking up on expensive souvenirs for the opposition frontbenches remains an unsaid mystery.
What is certain is that navigating Sri Lanka’s defense and telecommunication permit channels is rarely a swift affair. While Nalin Bandara works his way through the paperwork, his personal air force stays strictly grounded, serving as a thirty-nine-piece reminder that even lawmakers cannot fly past customs clearance.
