A Sri Lankan national attempting to depart for Austria using a Malaysian passport, obtained through a scam involving a payment of Rs.9 million, was apprehended by officials from the Immigration and Emigration Department at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA).
In a separate incident, two men from Jaffna were also intercepted by authorities at immigration counters while trying to leave the country with falsified travel documents.
It was reported that one of the passengers aroused suspicion after receiving a boarding pass and was taken aside for questioning. Despite presenting a Malaysian passport, officials discovered discrepancies between the passport photo and the passenger's appearance. Further inspection of his belongings revealed a Sri Lankan passport and a disembarkation stamp.
The detained passenger, a resident of Tellippalai, Jaffna, had intended to board Air India flight AI 282 bound for Vienna, Austria.
Upon extensive questioning, the passenger revealed that he had procured the Malaysian passport from a travel agent outside the airport for Rs.9 million. He had already paid Rs.3 million upfront with an agreement to pay the remainder after completing his journey.
In a similar incident the previous morning, another individual attempting to fly to Malpensa, Italy on the same airline was flagged by airline staff due to suspicious travel documents. Subsequent investigation by the Immigration Department's Border Surveillance Unit (BSU) confirmed that his Sri Lankan passport was forged.
Following protocol, both individuals were transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) unit at BIA for further investigation.
