Five Sri Lankans who had attempted to leave for Italy using forged visas have been apprehended at the departure lounge of the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake.
The suspects were apprehended by officials attached to the Imigration and Emigration Department at the airport today.
Initially, a 45-year-old woman from Marawila had arrived at the airport along with her 14 and 18-year-old daughters last night to leave for Italy via Doha, Qatar.
However, due to suspicions pertaining to their visa documents, she along with her daughter were detained by officials from the Imigration and Emigration Department.
A family of four also from Marawila had arrived at the airport thereafter to leave for Italy via Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
Due to suspicions over the 35-year-old mother’s visa documents, the woman was detained by officials from the Imigration and Emigration Department.
A 46-year-old woman from Puttalam who was also set to leave for Italy via Dubai had also been detained due to suspicions over her visa document.
The suspects who were interrogated had revealed that they had attempted to flee to Italy due to the current economic crisis in Sri Lanka.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the group had travelled to Italy previously as well and had used the assistance of a person in Mannar to obtain the forged visa documents to travel this time around.
The suspects have been handed over to the Crimes Division of the Katunayake Airport Police for further investigations.
(NewsWire)