A group of 24 persons allegedly preparing to travel to Canada illegally via boat were taken into custody by the Sri Lanka Navy from Kalpitiya in the early hours of today.
The group were taken into custody while staying at a house in Kurakkanhena, Kalpitiya. A lorry allegedy used to transport the group was also taken into custody.
The group includes a woman and two children. All those who have been arrested are residents of Batticaloa.
Under questioning by officers at the Kalpitiya 'Vijaya' Navy Base, the group had stated that they gave between Rs 300, 000 to 500, 000 per person to a middleman in Jaffna a month ago to faciliate their journey to Canada.
Upon instructions from the middleman, they had first made their way from Batticaloa to Wattala and from Wattala to Colombo. From Colombo they had moved to Negombo and from there to Kalpitiya. They had been staying at a place in Kurakkanhena, Kalpitiya when they were apprehended.
The arrested persons had told naval officers that they had been instructed to wait at the location for dinghy boats to transport them in small groups to a multi-day fishing trawler waiting offshore.
The group has now been handed over to the Kalpitiya Police.
Text and Pix by Padma Kumari Kankanamge
Additional Pix by Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe
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