Rogue foreign job ring busted

Three arrested along with passports, funds:

Rasika SOMARATNA

Sleuths from the investigations arm of the Sri Lanka Bureau for Foreign Employment has busted a rogue foreign manpower recruitment drive run by a few individuals using vehicles stationed at a strategic location in front of Emigration and Immigration Department.

Officers have taken into custody three suspects along with a few passports and a large sum of money believed to have been collected from unsuspecting job seekers.

According to Bureau sources these individuals are believed have duped unsuspecting job seekers swindling large sums of money with the promise of lucrative opportunities mainly in the Middle East and Korea.

These rogue recruiters are also believed to be engaged in falsifying documents to obtain passports, certificates, visas etc.

According to Authorities more than 3,000 people visit the Emigration and Immigration Department office located at Borella on weekdays to obtain passports and for other related matters.

According to authorities these individuals who had been running a well organized racket had duped a number of unsuspecting people mainly from outstations who throng the premises to obtain a variety of services including valid documentation to obtain foreign employment.

SLBFE Chairman Kingsley Ranawaka yesterday warned prospective migrant workers to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the Bureau immediately. In addition the job and personal security of migrant workers who seek employment through these bogus agents would also be in danger as they send them without proper protocol Chairman said. In such cases the intervention of the Bureau on behalf of the beleaguered workers is difficult because they are not properly registered with the authorities, Ranawaka added.

Ranawaka warned all job seekers in foreign countries to be vigilant and check the validity of their source of employment before committing themselves. He further added that anybody who seeks the help of a private agent to secure employment abroad had the right to clarify whether they had valid authority to operate as a recruitment agent.

In addition they could also seek help from the Bureau for any clarification regarding their proposed employment opportunity and should contact the right authority without any hesitation, he added. The Chairman said that he had advised the investigation division to intensify raids to crackdown on offenders with many such incidents coming to the fore recently and that severe penalties would be enforced in addition to seeking intervention from a court of law.