CID, SLFEB delegation leave for Oman to probe human trafficking

• Sri Lankan female migrant workers being sent as domestic workers to Oman, had been sold at auctions to work as escorts

By Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya

A delegation from the Foreign Employment Bureau accompanied by a team of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officials left for Oman to investigate incidents related to human trafficking, The Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau (SLFEB) said.

The team left on Sunday on the instructions of the Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara to investigate the incidents related to human trafficking in Oman.  The Bureau said the delegation includes an additional general manager of the SLFEB, three investigating officers, a police inspector and a female sub-inspector of the CID. Information with regard to the human trafficking ring came to light after the CID received complaints that Sri Lankan female migrant workers being sent as domestic workers to Oman, had been sold at auctions to work as escorts. It was also revealed that Sri Lankan women were being sent to Oman for employment under tourist visas and were subject to untold harassment and often abused.