Twelve Sri Lankan female migrant workers out of the 77 that sought refuge at a Sri Lankan Embassy safehouse in Oman have left for Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) said today.
According to Ada Derana, issuing a statement, the SLBFE said that the 12 Sri Lankan migrant workers in Oman had left after registering with the SLBFE.
Nearly 90 Sri Lankans were reported to have been stranded after arriving on tourist visas in Oman looking for employment but had instead been forced to work as escorts after being sold at auctions.
The human trafficking ring had come to light following several complaints to the SLBFE with the CID launching a probe, which has led to the arrest of four suspects, including the chief suspect in Sri Lanka.
Minister of Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara informed Parliament yesterday that the SLBFE is unable to assist those who have not registered with the Bureau.
He said, however, Cabinet approval was granted recently to help those who were in shelters who had not registered with the SLBFE.
“77 women were in a shelter in Oman out of which 12 persons had gone on tourist visas without registering and 65 others had not registered with the SLFBE. In Dubai, there were 70 women in shelters who had registered and 7 who had gone on tourist visas,” he revealed. (NewsWire)