Officers of the Special Investigation Division of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) arrested a former Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) member of the Haguranketha Pradeshiya Sabha on May 01, for allegedly defrauding over two crore rupees by promising jobs in Romania.

The Bureau had received 16 complaints stating that the suspect, a resident of Rikillagaskada, Haguranketha, and his wife had defrauded Rs. 21.3 million (213 lakhs) by deceiving men and women from various parts of the island, claiming to provide jobs in the construction sector in Romania. Complainants revealed that these traffickers even provided employment contracts to the individuals from whom they collected money.

The main suspect is an individual who had previously worked in Romania for two years; he had used that experience to operate this racket. Investigation officers of the Bureau, together with officers of the State Intelligence Service (SIS), tracked information regarding the scam, which revealed that the suspect had fled the Rikillagaskada area and was hiding in a rented house in Kadugannawa.

Accordingly, the main suspect and his wife, who aided the racket, were arrested and produced before the Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court, after which the Magistrate ordered them to be remanded in custody until May 04.

The arrest was carried out under the supervision of the Director of the Central Criminal Investigation Division, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kamal Ariyawansha, and on the instructions of the OIC of the Bureau’s Special Investigation Unit, Chief Inspector P.B. Ariyasinghe, by a team including Inspector T.B. de Alwis.