The ‘Q’ Branch police team from Chennai picked up two Sri Lankan refugees including a woman from a lodge at Thisaiyanvilai in the district on Tuesday.

Sources in the police said the special team nabbed R. Mahendran alias Daniel (44) and one Vijaya (42) from the lodge near Kamarajar Bus Stand at Thisaiyanvilai on Tuesday.

During interrogation, it was found that they had escaped from the Sri Lankan refugee camp at Gummidpoondi.

Police suspect that Mahendran was playing a pivotal role in sending the refugees to Australia illegally by fishing boats. Since the incidents of the Sri Lankan refugees being detained by the Australian Navy on the highseas near Christmas Island has increased manifold in the recent past, police believe that the duo were staying at Thisaiyanvilai to recruit the ‘aspirants to Australia’ after taking hefty sums from them.

Police suspect that Mahendran and Vijaya might have visited the coastal hamlets of the district like Uvari, Idinthakarai and Kooththenkuzhi, from where the ‘aspirants’ could have been easily ferried in fiberglass boats to board the bigger vessels on highseas.

The duo, after being grilled at Tirunelveli for a while, was taken to Nagercoil where a few Sri Lankan Tamil refugees were recently detained by the police.(The Hindu)