Sept 27, Colombo: Sri Lanka Customs arrested today a gang of two groups who attempted to smuggle a collection of coins and jewellery with historical value out of the country.

The gang was divided into two groups of four persons each and they were attempting to smuggle the cache of artifacts via Colombo International Airport at Katunayake.

The Customs arrested the first group at around 1:30 p.m. and the second group an hour later.

All the suspects, bound for Chennai, India, are residents of Colombo, police say.

Police suspect the group attempted to smuggle the coins stolen from the Colombo National Museum in March this year out of the country.

Investigations are underway to verify the historical significance of the artifacts.