BENGALURU: In what looks like a new modus operandi of an 'organised' network of international agents involved in illegal migration of Sri Lankans to Europe via airports in South India, at least two instances have come to the notice of law enforcement agencies at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA).
Sri Lankan nationals with no valid visa for the UK were handed British passports by their compatriot agents to help them reach Great Britain "in exchange for Sri Lankan passport and commission money ranging between GBP400 and 500 per illegal migration," said sources, on condition of anonymity.
"There have been three instances in a span of one month between December last year and January, which came to the notice of the authorities at KIA, and the accused were handed over to police. In both cases, the accused are Sri Lankan nationals.
They came to KIA with their passports and legitimate boarding passes to other countries. But soon after clearing immigration, inside the restroom at the Security Hold Area (SHA) in Terminal 2, the other accused handed over their British passports to them.
In one case, the latter were found to be fake by the airline, and the accused were deboarded and arrested. In the second case, the Sri Lankan managed to reach London but immigration officers here alerted authorities in Heathrow," sources said.
"There seems to be an organised network which is involved in facilitating illegal migration of foreigners, especially Sri Lankans, from India to Europe. The 'agents' also impersonate their 'clients' and go to Sri Lanka where they apply for new passports after destroying the ones belonging to their clients. They fly back to the UK with their new passport. The 'clients', on the other hand, impersonate the agents and fly to the UK.
They hide or destroy the passports of their agents and seek refugee status in the UK, pleading persecution in their country. They get deported when caught by immigration officers there. It's a racket," added the sources.
On January 31, Sri Lankan national Vithursan Sivakumar was booked on Indigo flight 6E-78 from Jeddah to KIA, and onwards to Colombo by Indigo flight 6E-1183. "Instead of Sivakumar, an Italian passport holder, Probodne Deshapriya Fernando, who had done immigration in Jeddah for London, arrived in Bengaluru. Sivakumar, on the other hand, who had done immigration in Jeddah for the Bengaluru-bound flight, boarded the
London flight on Fernando's fake Italian passport. Fernando was arrested at KIA under the the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025," said sources.
On January 18, 52-year-old businessman Kandiah Rajagopal from London reportedly helped his compatriot Sharusan Kunasekaran travel to London impersonating him, and using his boarding pass. Rajagopal, who had arrived in India on a tourist visa, had bought a return ticket to London on Virgin Atlantic flight VS-347 but never boarded the flight. Instead, he handed over his boarding pass to Kunasekaran, who impersonated Rajagopal and managed to travel to London.
Rajagopal was arrested and the authorities in Heathrow were alerted about Kunasekaran by immigration officers at KIA. Rajagopal had booked another ticket to Colombo and was arrested under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, after immigration officers and Central Industrial Security Forces (CISF) found him loitering in a suspicious manner in the SHA for a long time, while waiting for his flight.
On December 22, 2025, two Sri Lankan citizens Piranavan Arunasalam and Livinsan Sithamparanathan arrived at KIA to travel to Malaysia on Indigo Airlines Flight 6E-1127 and cleared the departure immigration clearance. Instead of going to Malaysia, they boarded Air India flight AI-133 to London. On checking their passports, the airline ground staff found them to be fake and deboarded them at boarding gate C1.
"During investigation, Arunasalam and Sithamparanathan said they were given the boarding passes by two other Malaysian citizens, Sukumaran Subramaniam and Chandrasegaran Annamalay, who they were impersonating, near the washroom in the duty-free area of D1 boarding gate. While Arunasalam and Sithamparanathan were arrested, Subramaniam and Annamalay reportedly travelled to London.