The Special Investigation Unit of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE), together with the Vavuniya and Poovaskulam Police, have arrested a woman from Mahiyanganaya who had trafficked women between the ages of 20 and 40 to Oman on the pretext of providing employment in various fields.
Information about this woman was revealed in news published in local media last February and the information received from the abused women. The Dehiattakandiya Magistrate has issued a court order to arrest the suspect following a complaint lodged by a woman residing in the same area.
It was learned that the suspect and another group were running a sex-trafficking ring. They had sold the victims to racketeers in Oman. Forcing women into prostitution is a serious offence under Section 62/1 of the Foreign Employment Bureau Act.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has also received complaints regarding the incident. The woman is scheduled to be produced before courts in Colombo on March 18.
The suspect arrived in Sri Lanka from Oman on February 25 and was taken to the Vavuniya Quarantine Centre for 14-day isolation, the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment said.
When she came out of quarantine yesterday, she was arrested on an order issued by the Dehiattakandiya Magistrate.
The suspect was produced before the Vavuniya Acting Magistrate and remanded until March 26.
