A call has been sent out for public assistance to track down a large number of foreign nationals, mainly Indians, who are in the country illegally and have infiltrated local trade and business.
Senior Immigration and Emigration officials say thousands of overstayers and illegal visitors are in the country, the majority concentrated in the North and the East, and they are doing business with locals. While the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) is the entry point for most of these persons, the others have arrived by boat, landing mainly in the North-Western and Northern provinces.
Apart from the Indians, there are other nationals, including Pakistanis, Russians, and citizens of former Soviet Bloc countries, according to officials. The government has gone so far as to place advertisements in the national media seeking public cooperation to help find such persons.
In the past six months, up to 2,000 foreign nationals, mainly Indians from South India who have overstayed their landing visas, have been rounded up and deported, said Immigration and Emigration Controller Chunanda Perera.
A special team of officers has been set up to track down these persons, Mr. Perera said, adding that identifying South Indian nationals can be tricky because they speak Tamil and look much like locals.
Sri Lanka Navy spokesperson Kosala Warnakulasuriya believed that persons from South India come ashore at points between Kalpitiya and Pooneryn. The sea along this stretch of coastline is relatively calm most of the year as it is outside the range of monsoonal activity and therefore easily navigated by boats.
In recent weeks, the Navy has detained at least six Indian boats carrying contraband cargo, including cannabis and banned marine species.Last week, a resident of Rameshwaran, South India, was arrested in Jaffna for not carrying a valid visa; another Indian was nabbed at the Vavuniya Railway Station carrying textiles to sell during the Avurudhu season. |
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