A group of 21 Sri Lankan nationals, who had been accused of various crimes in Sri Lanka and had fled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have been deported back to the country today (22) after being detained by UAE’s security authorities, Ada Derana reporter said.

The group had been arrested for allegedly possessing drone footage, missile-related videos, and photographs from Middle Eastern conflict zones on their mobile phones. They had reportedly been held in remand custody in the UAE before being deported.

The group includes two women, while the remaining 19 are men residing in different parts of Sri Lanka.

They were deported from Sharjah onboard AirAsia flights G9-587 and G9-502, which had reached Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) at around 2.30 a.m. today. 

However, due to severe rainy weather conditions in the Katunayake area, the flights were diverted to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport.

Following an improvement in weather conditions, both flights departed from Mattala and arrived at BIA at around 8.10 a.m. the same day.

Ten individuals were brought in onboard G9-587, including residents from Colombo, Minuwangoda, Gampaha, Ragama, Anuradhapura, Embilipitiya, and Negombo. 

The remaining eleven individuals arrived onboard flight G9-502, including residents from Colombo, Marawila, Puttalam, Wariyapola, Dehiwala, and one Sri Lankan expatriate previously residing in the UAE.

After recording statements at the airport by officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the group was handed over to the respective police stations for further legal proceedings.