The owner and the manager of a licensed foreign employment agency have been arrested for allegedly sending Sri Lankans for employment in the Russian army.

The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) stated that the two suspects were arrested yesterday (15) by officials of the bureau’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU).

It said that the agency had obtained a sum of Rs. 1.5 million from each individual after promising that they would be sent to Russia on tourist visas and given employment in the Russian army’s civil service. However, the Sri Lankans have been duped and sent to the Russia-Ukraine warfront instead. 

The SLBFE said it has received 07 complaints regarding the racket operated by the agency and that based on those complaints, the agency is believed to have cheated a total sum of over Rs. 10 million.

Accordingly, following the raid carried out by the investigative officers at the said foreign employment agency’s premises on Stanley Thilakaratne Mawatha in Nugegoda, two persons including the owner and the manager of the agency have been taken into custody.

The two suspects are to be produced before the Negombo Magistrate’s Court today after recording their statements while the license of the relevant foreign employment agency has already been cancelled by the SLBFE.

Minister of Labor and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara sates that the government does not allow the deployment of Sri Lankans to serve in any foreign military and also urges the public not to travel overseas for employment on tourist visas. 

The minister has given instructions to the officers of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment to take action against individuals who operate such rackets regardless of their posts and positions.