Four held for trafficking refugees

Four Indian agents were arrested on the charge of illegally sending Sri Lankan Tamil refugees either to their homeland or Australia by mechanized boats for hefty amounts. They were arrested by police, dealing with extremist outfits, after an inquiry with four refugees, who were waiting for the agents at the bus stand in Ramanathapuram to be sent to Sri Lanka, police said.

On a tip-off that some refugees were planning to go back to Sri Lanka illegally, the Q branch police took into custody Violet, Sakilan, Nallu and Ramesh after noticing their suspicious movements.

The four refugees were lodged in different camps in the state. On information provided by them, police arrested the four agents, who had collected money from many people for sending them back to Sri Lanka or to Australia.

Five mobile phones and Rs 2,500 were seized from the four. The refugees were handed over to the local Police PTI.