A former Pradeshiya Sabha member affiliated with the United National Party (UNP) has been arrested for allegedly using forged letterheads bearing the name of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Hon. Vijitha Herath, to carry out an illegal foreign employment racket.
The suspect was taken into custody by officers attached to the Special Investigations Division of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE). During the arrest, police recovered several forged ministerial letterheads, photocopies of foreign passports and a large number of foreign employment application forms from his possession.
Investigations have revealed that the suspect had cheated at least 11 individuals by promising them employment opportunities in Canada, collecting over Rs. 30 million in total.
The arrest followed two formal complaints lodged with the SLBFE regarding the misuse of Minister Vijitha Herath’s official letterheads. Based on these complaints, a special investigation was launched, leading to the suspect’s arrest on January 26, 2026, while he was allegedly operating the scam from a lodge in Obesekarapura, Rajagiriya.
The suspect is a resident of the Pilimathalawa area and a former member of the Yatinuwara Pradeshiya Sabha in the Kandy District. He has also served on the staff of a former Opposition Leader of the Central Provincial Council and is known as a prominent UNP activist.
He was produced before the Aluthkade Magistrate’s Court on January 27, 2026. Although bail was granted, the suspect failed to meet the bail conditions and was subsequently remanded in custody.
Further investigations have uncovered that the suspect had been involved in similar fraudulent activities for several years using forged documents, with multiple cases currently pending against him in the Kandy courts.
Investigations are continuing under the special supervision of Senior Superintendent of Police Kamal Ariyawansa, Director of the Central Special Crimes Investigation Division. The raid and arrest were carried out with the participation of R.G.P.P. Ariyasinghe, Officer-in-Charge and Manager of the SLBFE Special Investigations Division, Police Inspector T.P. de Alwis, and Police Sergeant Dissanayake.
