A woman was recently arrested in the Thambuththegama area over her alleged involvement in a human trafficking racket operating between Sri Lanka and Dubai.
The arrest was made by the Human Trafficking, Smuggling and Maritime Crime Investigation Division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), after an investigation was launched into the matter, under the direction of the Director of the division.
Investigations have revealed that the suspect had sent a retired female Army soldier on a tourist visa to Dubai in June 2022, and had later attempted to involve her in the prostitution industry in Dubai.
The retired Army soldier, identified as a resident of Anuradhapura, had reportedly been sent to a brothel twice while in Dubai, from where she had run away, and demanded that the relevant ‘employment’ agency send her back to Sri Lanka.
Once having arrived in Sri Lanka after paying an additional Rs. 400,000, apart from the initial Rs. 500,000 spent to go to Dubai, the victimised woman had informed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) of the matter through the Army Commander, after which investigations into the matter were launched.
The female suspect was arrested in Thambuththegama, while further investigations are underway to arrest her accomplice in Dubai, police assured.
