Colombo, Oct. 20 (Daily Mirror) - A married couple accused of defrauding members of the public of approximately Rs. 8.24 million by promising overseas jobs in Serbia, the UAE, South Korea and Romania has been arrested and remanded until October 30.
The suspects were arrested on October 16 by officers of the Special Investigation Unit of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE), together with the Welimada Police.
According to the Bureau, the couple had allegedly operated an illegal foreign employment agency under the name ‘I-Tech Tourism (Pvt) Ltd’ in the Nugathalawa area of Welimada.
The agency had previously operated from No. 165, Kandy Road, Dalugama, Kiribathgoda. Its foreign employment licence, bearing registration number 2594, expired on September 30, 2025.
However, the suspects had allegedly resumed operations under the same name in Welimada and collected money from people by promising overseas employment opportunities despite having no actual job orders.
The Bureau said 12 complaints had been lodged against the suspects over incidents reported up to September 9, 2026, involving a total alleged loss of Rs. 8,240,000.
Acting on information received, a team of officers led by a Police Inspector conducted a raid in Welimada and arrested the main suspect, a licence holder residing in Kadawatha, and his wife.
The suspects were produced before the Welimada Magistrate’s Court and remanded until October 30. They are also scheduled to be produced before the Mahara Magistrate’s Court on October 26 for further legal proceedings.