The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday arrested a key suspect in the Sri Lankan human trafficking case from Tamil Nadu. The accused, Seeni Aabulkhan, had been on the run for the past three years.
The investigation revealed that Aabulkhan, along with his associates, was involved in confining trafficked victims on a boat before sending them to Mangaluru for further confinement. The case began in June 2021 when the Mangaluru Police rescued 13 Sri Lankan nationals from traffickers. The NIA took over the investigation and re-registered the case.
The probe uncovered that a Sri Lankan national named Eesan, believed to be the kingpin of the racket with links to the terror outfit LTTE, collaborated with Aabulkhan to illegally transport 38 Sri Lankan nationals to various parts of Tamil Nadu. The victims were falsely promised employment opportunities in Canada besides assurances to obtain legitimate documents for migration to the country.
The NIA has filed chargesheets against 10 accused between October 2021 and January 2024. The investigation is ongoing as the agency continues its efforts to apprehend the remaining three suspects, who are still at large.
A similar incident occurred in July as the NIA arrested four key accused in Delhi suspected of being involved in luring and trafficking young Indians to foreign countries on the pretext of offering them lucrative jobs.
Source: India Today
--Agencies
