Two men have been arrested inside the premises of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment for allegedly collecting money from job seekers by promising work in Israel.
The suspects were detained by officers of the SLBFE’s Special Investigation Police Unit. One is a suspended police constable from Buttala; the other is a resident of Beliatta.
The investigation began after Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment Arun Hemachandra received information that two men were taking money from people waiting at the Bureau to secure jobs in Israel, claiming they could arrange placements in the country’s construction and hospitality sectors under a government programme.
Seven passports and several Israeli employment agreement documents were taken into custody from the suspects at the time of their arrest.
Posing as officials
Investigators found that the pair had repeatedly brought job seekers into the Bureau and behaved in a way that created the impression they could arrange employment, according to Ada Derana. They also allegedly conducted themselves so as to appear to be Bureau officials.
Inquiries have further revealed that the two were allegedly being directed by a woman identified as ‘Chandani Menike’, who had previously been arrested by the Bureau’s investigation division over an alleged Israel job scam and was later granted bail by the Kaduwela Magistrate’s Court.
The suspects were due to be produced before the Kaduwela Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. Investigations into the alleged racket are continuing.
Bureau warning
The SLBFE has urged members of the public visiting its offices to obtain services and information only from officials attached to the relevant sections, or from officers at the reception counter. It asked people not to deal with individuals loitering in corridors or outside the premises.
Sri Lanka resumed sending workers to Israel under state-to-state arrangements, and the demand for those placements has repeatedly been exploited by unlicensed intermediaries.
