A Malaysian national, who attempted to enter the country under the false identity of a Sri Lankan national using a stolen Sri Lankan passport, was intercepted and subsequently deported by Immigration officials at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA).
The individual, arriving from Doha, Qatar on a Qatar Airways flight, reached Sri Lanka on Tuesday evening, according to Immigration sources.
Upon presenting the Sri Lankan passport at the local immigration counters, officials became suspicious due to a significant discrepancy: the photograph on the passport did not match the appearance of the passenger.
Consequently, the passenger was referred to the Immigration and Emigration Department Border Surveillance Unit (BSU). The officials determined that the Sri Lankan passport in the passenger's possession was indeed genuine but did not belong to him.
Further investigation revealed an authentic Malaysian national identity card belonging to the suspect within his baggage.
Preliminary findings from the immigration data system at BIA indicated that the legitimate holder of the Sri Lankan passport had departed the country on September 10th.
