Foiling a massive human-trafficking bid, the Kerala Police on Sunday night took into custody 150 Sri Lankan nationals, including 19 women and 22 children, who were to be taken to Australia by sea. The Sri Lankan nationals were taken into custody from Aravila quay at Kavanad in Kollam.
The police had first taken 14 Sri Lankan nationals into custody on the basis of information provided by the local residents of sighting them in suspicious circumstances. The rest of the Sri Lankans were found packed onto a small boat with no basic amenities during a joint search conducted by the Coast Guard and Kollam police.
Police officials said on Monday that the boat had been confiscated and the Sri Lankan nationals including the women and children had been put up at a police camp since Sunday night. They said the boat’s driver and four others jumped off it and swam away when the coastal police spotted the boat.
The detained Sri Lankans said that the human-trafficking agents, who had taken Rs 100,000 to Rs 500,000 from each of them, had promised to reach them to Australia by sea in 18 days. They were also told that they would be transferred from the boat to a ship at mid-sea.
Source: Daily Pioneer
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