6 March 2012 11:22 am
Speaking to the Daily Mirror the Ambassador asserted that the Kuwaiti authorities had been acting on a malicious tip off by a section of Sri Lankans. "There is a lot of inter group rivalry among sections of the Diaspora living in Kuwait and I intend on meeting the head of the Kuwaiti CID to ascertain if they had been acting on a malicious tip off." he said.
The group led by Nanda Malini had been checked for a long period of time upon arrival at the Kuwaiti International airport on the 1st of March. "I was informed that they had been detained and were being searched. I immediately sent an embassy official to look into the matter. We assisted Nanda Malini and her crew after they left the airport and made sure the show went off as planned. They left the country the next day and we gave them all necessary support they needed for a smooth departure" he said.
The Ambassador went on to point out that the Kuwait Authorities had acted as per regulations and they usually act on any tip off given. “The Kuwaiti authorities’ don’t have any idea about the status of Nanda Malini or any other artiste held in high esteem in Sri Lanka. There have been many instances previously of drug peddlers from other countries coming into Kuwait in the pretext of a music group so therefore there is really nothing that can be done. The group was checked and released immediately after the authorities ascertained that the group had not brought any drugs with them,” he added.(Hafeel Farisz)