Suspected human trafficking racket exposed

17 November 2022 02:15 am - 10 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

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A suspected human trafficking racket has been exposed after a number of women stranded in Abu Dhabi in the UAE contacted a celebrity couple in Sri Lanka and appealed for help, Daily Mirror learns.

The racket came to light after a domestic worker who was employed by the celebrity couple decided to leave saying she had received work in Oman.

The domestic worker had later made contact with her daughter and said that she was locked up in a room with at least 16 other women.

The daughter had contacted the celebrity couple, Dushyanth Weeraman and Stephanie Siriwardhana, and sought assistance.

The domestic worker had informed her daughter that the passports and the mobile phones of the women with her in the room had been taken away.

She had managed to contact the daughter using a phone which was kept hidden.

“Most of these women are from the Hatton area,” Siriwardhana told Daily Mirror.

On being alerted by the daughter of the domestic worker, Weeraman and Siriwardhana traced the location of the woman using WhatsApp and found that she was not in Oman but in Abu Dhabi in the UAE.

The celebrity couple, who are also involved in social work, managed to get images of the documents of the women sent to them using WhatsApp.

“After examining the documents, we found out that the women had travelled to Abu Dhabi on a visit visa and not work visas,” Siriwardhana said.

Weeraman said that the women had been sent to a foreign employment sub-agency in Katugastota through a broker based in Hatton.

The sub-agency had forwarded the information to a registered foreign employment agency in Maradana.

The foreign employment agency had registered the women at the Foreign Employment Bureau to work only in the UAE.

Once registered, the women were issued travel tickets through the broker and sent to Abu Dhabi and not Oman, on visit visas.

The entire process, with multiple layers, makes it difficult to trace the main racketeer.

“These women anyway didn’t know they cannot go to Oman on a visit visa and work and that it is illegal. But they went assuming they will get work in Oman,” Weeraman said.

He said, it was learnt that the women also did not have sponsors in Oman to provide them with employment.

Weeraman said that the women had signed a letter and submitted it to the Sri Lankan Embassy in Abu Dhabi expressing willingness to remain in Abu Dhabi and work there.

However, while the women can apply for work visas in the UAE despite arriving on a visit visa, if they wish to, the women have now been sent to Oman without work permits.

“The women were taken to the airport saying they are being sent to Dubai. But when they reached the airport, they found they were being sent to Oman,” Siriwardhana said.

There are fears the women would be forced to work illegally in Oman and later sent back with the risk of them being detained at the Oman airport for overstaying or violating their visa regulations.

“They have been tricked to commit a crime by going to Oman on a visit visa. They will not have Government protection,” Weeraman said.

Siriwardhana said that the Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara was alerted over the incident.

Meanwhile, Nanayakkara had a discussion with Public Security Minister Tiran Alles yesterday on the issue of human trafficking.

A decision was taken to intensify operations to crackdown on human trafficking.

It was also decided to raise awareness among the public on human trafficking. (Easwaran Rutnam)

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Comments - 10

Tissa Fernando Thursday, 17 November 2022 08:15 AM

Politicians are most probably involved in these rackets.

Be Fair Thursday, 17 November 2022 08:49 AM

DM: Im sure you can do this article better, initial para's I thought indicated that the Couple was part of the Plot. Hope you correct it

Felix De mel Thursday, 17 November 2022 09:01 AM

There has to be more scrutiny at the airport to track these people who just travel for nothing. The 300 people whose boat sank have also travelled by air to some destination.

Adwani Thursday, 17 November 2022 11:40 AM

The crooks are posing a major threat to genuine travelers, since the SLFEB appointed workers are unable to perform their duty as expected, they do not possess a proper knowledge for checking. Majority of the Government workers are lacking basic knowledge in English Language.

dIFFI Thursday, 17 November 2022 11:43 AM

SUPER OLD NEWS

Danutakiwwa Thursday, 17 November 2022 11:45 AM

how come it is exclusive men? We saw this news several days ago...probably older than a week. Was the writer sleeping all this time?

Disgusting Thursday, 17 November 2022 05:02 PM

This news item is only partially accurate. The author had obtained the information from Weeraman, the supposed celebrity. We all know the general credibility of SL celebrities. The women who sought refuge in SL embassies in the named countries are being exploited and sexual favours demanded to help them by non other than the embassy staff. See the level to which SL's morality has deteriorated. Why blame only Danushka Gunathilaka, when immoral conduct is business as usual in entire SL and the people pride on it. Recollect/observe the numerous incidents against tourists taking place on a daily basis. Haven't heard anyone offender receiving any punishment. We only hear about presidential pardons for convicted criminals. Probably the only country with only an entirely corrupt and criminal population in the world. There is nothing left to salvage in it.

B B Siriwardhana Thursday, 17 November 2022 05:08 PM

Not at all. Maybe previous news, but as we speak, there is still a real danger for these ladies as the agent in the UAE despite having been advised not to take the ladies to Oman by the SL embassy in the UAE, he flew them against their will to Oman also with a visit visa. Daily several more ladies are flown to the UAE under a visit visa, with a dummy return ticket not to alert the Dubai authorities as to the real purpose of their stay. A lot of gaps and loop holes. Here below is what SL did to prevent this human traficking and the above is how these unscrupulous agents are avoiding this procedure: Beginning in October 2020, agencies and individual sponsors were also required to obtain a “No Objection Certificate” (NOC) from the Sri Lankan Embassy for any female domestic worker migrating to Oman; this also required the worker to register with SLBFE. According to the new procedure, the Oman Police will only issue employment visas to Sri Lankan female domestic workers who submit both

B B Siriwardhana Thursday, 17 November 2022 05:24 PM

.... in continuation... These poor rural ladies lured for jobs in the Middle East, with hopes to give a better life to their families, see their hopes and dreams shattered because they trusted these agents who "registered them with the SLBFE" for employment for only the UAE (in their ignorance they do not know that, they only know that they are registered with the SLBFE, hence they feel somewhat protected thinking that the licensed agents know what they are doing and follow SLBFE rules) and instead they are sent like cattle to satisfy the greed and urges of these agents and all others (the middle people in the chain) involved. that cannot be accepted.

Moh Sleiman Friday, 18 November 2022 06:51 AM

LITTLE KNOWLEDGE can be dangerous,It sounded like this innocent couple were part of the RACKET.Please watch your comments cause it could land Innocent people in trouble.

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Suspected human trafficking racket exposed

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