Children sent abroad for education, not smuggling: Sri Lankan Police

The recent claims about children being sent from Sri Lanka to Malaysia, sparking concerns about their well-being, have taken a new direction. It was reported that these children were actually sent abroad for higher education purposes.

After conducting preliminary investigations into the suspected local facilitator of the international child smuggling syndicate, along with a 14-year-old boy and his father deported from Malaysia, the Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) discovered that the child was intended for higher education abroad.

A senior official from the CID’s Human Trafficking, Smuggling Investigation, and Maritime Security Investigation Division (HTSIMSID) said that they have credible information indicating that all 17 children reportedly smuggled to Malaysia in early 2023 were sent abroad for similar reasons.

The detective dismissed notions of smuggling for adoption or organ retrieval, noting that the parents and perpetrators resorted to this method due to the limited recognition of Sri Lankan passports in certain Western countries. Initially, the children traveled to Malaysia using genuine Sri Lankan passports before being sent to countries like the United Kingdom, France, Canada, and Switzerland for their studies, using forged Malaysian passports.

The perpetrators charged between Rs. 7 to 9 million per child to ensure their safe arrival in the foreign country.

The official did not rule out the possibility that the children's relatives, particularly those from the Tamil Diaspora in the West, financially supported this endeavor, given that all reported cases of child smuggling originated from the North and East regions.

The Malaysian immigration authorities deported the 14-year-old child, his father, and their accomplice back to Sri Lanka. Following an extensive investigation by the Department of Immigration and Emigration, the chief local facilitator was identified and allowed to depart for Kuala Lumpur before alerting Malaysian authorities.

Upon their return, the trio was received by local immigration authorities, and their statements were recorded before they were handed over to the CID Unit at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA).

The CID continues its probe to uncover the main operatives behind this international human smuggling syndicate.