CHENNAI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday arrested a key member of a Sri Lankan human trafficking racket at Ramanathapuram. The arrested person, identified as Seeni Aabulkhan, had been absconding for three years. NIA sleuths discovered that Seeni and his associates confined their victims to a boat in the high seas before sending them to Mangaluru by train, car or two-wheeler.
Mangaluru city police had registered a case in June 2021 after searches led to the rescue of 13 Sri Lankan nationals from traffickers.
The agency later took over the investigation and nabbed Sri Lankan national Eesan with links to LTTE as the kingpin of the racket. He colluded with Aabulkhan for illegally trafficking 38 Sri Lankan nationals to various parts of Tamil Nadu after luring them with false promises.
Apart from promising them help in obtaining legitimate documentation for migration to Canada, they were lured with promises of employment, the agency said.
Following detailed investigations, the agency has filed charge sheets against 10 accused, including three who are on the run, between October 2021 and January 2024. Further probe is on to apprehend them, NIA said.