Two Sri Lankan nationals were arrested by the immigration officials at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) while attempting to board a UK-bound flight using passports bearing different identities on Monday.
The arrested men have been identified as Piranavan Arunasalam, 24, and Livinsan Sithamparanathan, 22, both are drivers by profession. They were booked under provisions of the Immigration Act, 1924, and handed over to the airport police.
According to the officials, the duo initially arrived at the airport to board a flight to the Maldives and cleared immigration using their original passports. After clearing immigration, they allegedly went to a washroom near the duty-free area, where they exchanged passports with two Malaysian nationals identified as Sukumaran Subramaniam and Chandrasegaran Annamalay.
The Sri Lankan nationals then attempted to board a London-bound flight using the exchanged passports. However, immigration officials grew suspicious during a secondary check of their boarding passes and documents and detained them. Officials believe the two Malaysian nationals managed to leave the area after exchanging passports. Efforts are now on to track them down.
An investigation is under way to determine why the two Sri Lankan nationals attempted to board the flight using Malaysian passports. Police suspect this may be part of a human trafficking racket.
