LNP – Sri Lanka deports 85 Chinese nationals over criminal activities

A total of 85 Chinese nationals convicted for various crimes, including cyber-related offences, were deported from Sri Lanka in the early hours of today, following legal proceedings and imprisonment, officials at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) confirmed.

The group, previously sentenced by local courts, had been detained at the Immigration and Emigration Department’s Detention Centre in Welisara ahead of their deportation.

According to the officer-in-charge at Katunayake Airport, the Chinese nationals were transported to the airport under tight security in five buses and were boarded onto a special SriLankan Airlines flight.

A total of 85 Sri Lankan police officers, Immigration and Emigration Department officials, and 172 SriLankan Airlines security personnel accompanied the deportees to ensure security during the operation.

The special chartered flight, SriLankan Airlines UL-880, departed for Guangzhou, China, at 1:20 a.m. today, the officer confirmed.

Authorities said the deportation was carried out in line with judicial decisions and immigration protocols, marking one of the largest single-group deportations from Sri Lanka in recent years.