The latest case of failed voyage was revealed by the Navy on the 8th of this month with the arrest of 19 persons, including men, women and children, who were attempting to leave the country unofficially via the Kalpitiya sea route.
The driver and his accomplice of the van which these people used to travel to Kalpitiya was taken into custody and the driver were arrested, the Navy said. The suspects, along with a woman and four children, are residents of Kilinochchi, Jaffna, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Polonnaruwa, Negombo and Kochchikade.
A similar group was arrested by Indian police last June while staying in Mangalore, Karnataka, on a voyage to Canada. According to information received by the Tamil Nadu Police, 38 Sri Lankans and six Indians who had provided them with food and drink were arrested during the raid, Indian media reported. According to media reports, the smugglers had taken one million Sri Lankan rupees to take them to Canada.
Thirty youths who attempted to leave the country unofficially were arrested by the Sri Lanka Navy in May while staying in the Samindugama area in Iranavila, Chilaw. The owner of the house where the group is staying has also been arrested. The Navy said the suspects were residents of Jaffna, Batticaloa, Mullaitivu and Puttalam.
With the increase in exodus, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said that the government should pay attention to this. Addressing the five year anniversary convention of the ‘Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna’ held recently, the Prime Minister said, “We need to find out whether there are youths in the passport queues who have painted on the walls in the past.”