Wrong terminal use lands female in custody

Rasika SOMARATHNA

A female migrant domestic worker, who tried to board a flight to Oman, bypassing normal protocol, using the departure terminal allocated to Air Port staff, has been arrested.

A spokesman for the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) said yesterday that its sleuths based in the Air Port had made the detection as the suspect was about to board the flight, and later had handed her over to the Police.

The arrested female is believed to have used the departure terminal exclusivelyallocated to Air Port service personnel in order to avoid the registration process carried out by authorities, which is being termed as compulsory for all migrant workers before departure.

The SLBFE spokesman told the Daily News that the incident might be just the tip of the iceberg and a wider network involving human smugglers' traffickers might be at work with inside help solicited with the promise of lucrative cash rewards.

The official also identified the incident as a major security breach, as the avenue might be used by rogue elements including terrorists to propagate their ulterior motives.

Thus considering all factors the Chairman of the SLBFE, Kingsly Ranawaka has made a written request to the IGP to intervene in the matter and make a thorough investigation to plug the loop holes in order to prevent such incidents taking place in future, he said.

Also the Daily News learns that the arrested female had confessed to authorities that she had given a bribe to secure access to the service personnel terminal, in order to by pass the SLBFE counters.

According to the SLBFE, all labour migrants should be registered with the Bureau before leaving the country either at its head office or at the Air Port. Also they need to pay Rs.7,400 as a registration fee.

Meanwhile, when inquired, the Air Port Police confirmed the incident.

They also said that a thorough investigation into the incident was in progress.