Politics

A former member of the Yatinuwara Pradeshiya Sabha, who represented the United National Party (UNP), has been arrested by officers from the Special Investigation Unit of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) for allegedly running a foreign employment scam. He is accused of using the letterhead of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath, to deceive people. During the arrest, authorities found several forged letterheads, copies of passports, and numerous foreign employment application forms in his possession, according to a statement from the ministry. Investigations showed that he had reportedly tricked 11 people into believing they would get jobs in Canada, collecting over Rs. 3 million from them. The arrest took place on January 26 after the SLBFE received two complaints about the suspect misusing Minister Vijitha Herath’s letterhead for illegal recruitment. He was caught while conducting his scam in a lodge in the Obeysekarapura area of Rajagiriya. The suspect, who lives in Pilimatalawa in Kandy, is a former UNP activist and had also worked for the former Opposition Leader of the Central Provincial Council. He appeared in front of the No. 05 Magistrate’s Court at the Aluthkade Courts Complex on January 27, where he was initially granted bail. However, he was later remanded after he could not fulfill the bail conditions. Further inquiries have indicated that he may have been involved in similar scams for several years, with multiple cases pending against him at the Kandy Court Complex.