CID arrests Aussie bound group of Lankans

by Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

A group of Sri Lankans who made an attempt to sail to Australia illegally from Chillaw area have been taken into custody by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) last Thursday, the police Media Spokesman SP, Prishantha Jayakody told the Sunday Observer.

The arrested persons include 40 males, 12 females with 6 children who attempted to sail from an unauthorised harbour in the Chillaw area. The trawler in which they attempted to sail was found abandoned at Ambakandawila in the Chillaw area.

The trawler was seized along with 6,000 litres of fuel and a consignment of food items by the CID officers.

Meanwhile the arrested persons are from areas such as Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and from Batticoloa. They had arrived in Colombo some time back and had taken refuge in homes and in hotels situated in the Wellawatte and in the Negombo areas.

It was learnt that the human smugglers who organised the racket had charged Rs 4 lakhs from each persons to carry them across to Australia illegally, spokesman said.

The suspects were further detained after being produced before the Colombo Magistrate for further questioning with regard to human smuggling operation.