Nine Sri Lankans have been arrested at the Katunayake Airport with forged Canadian visas, becoming the largest group to be nabbed at the airport over fake visa documents.
Immigration officials at the Katunayake Airport had nabbed the suspects on Monday (24 Mar) evening after one suspect was questioned over suspicion about his travel documents.
The passenger’s Canadian work visa was found to be forged after being subjected to technological checks, while his passport was found to be genuine.
Further interrogation of the suspect led to the arrest of eight more passengers with similar fake visas, who had been waiting at the departure lounge to leave for Dubai.
Inquiries had revealed that the suspects, aged between 30 and 40 years, had spent Rs. 4.5 million each to obtain the forged Canadian visa.
The suspects revealed a man who had acted as their coordinator had checked them into a hotel in Negombo a day prior to their departure, and had also dropped them off at the airport.
The coordinator, who is said to have charged millions for the forged visas, was arrested from the Negombo Hotel following a raid conducted by officials from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).
Investigations have revealed that the mastermind was a permanent resident in Canada, who had acted through the local agent.
The arrested suspects have been handed over to the CID for further investigations. (Newswire)