RAMANATHAPURAM: Four, including three Sri Lankan nationals, who allegedly entered Tamil Nadu illegally by boat were detained by the police at Southwadi beach in Pamban, on Friday.
Preliminary enquiry revealed that they had planned to travel to London using fake passports obtained in Delhi, police sources said.
Police sources said that, based on a tip-off received early on Friday, a team conducted surveillance at Southwadi beach. During when the team intercepted a suspicious fibre boat approaching the shore. The boat, reportedly owned by G Muthuraja alias Karupan (40) of Rameswaram, the boat did not have a registration number.
The police later identified the other three person as Sri Lankan nationals namely Mohamed Khan (32) of Trincomalee , Mohamed Ashiq (25) of Batticaloa and Darshan (34) of Kandy. The boat operator and the three Sri Lankan nationals are being questioned.
During interrogation, Darshan reportedly confessed the police that he had entered India through Bengaluru airport on a tourist visa on February 26 and had subsequently been staying in Namakkal district.
According to the police, Darshan contacted Muthuraja around 4 pm on October 22 and allegedly offered him Rs 1.10 lakh to transport two Sri Lankan nationals illegally to Tamil Nadu by boat.
Muthuraja is said to have departed from Irattai Thazhai beach, near Dhanushkodi, around 6 pm in his unregistered country boat. The boat reportedly reached the India-Sri Lanka maritime boundary, where Mohamed Khan and Mohamed Ashiq were waiting, and brought them to Southwadi beach.
During further questioning, Mohamed Khan allegedly told the police that he had contacted a person identified as Emden from Koneswarapuri in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, and agreed to pay three lakh Sri Lankan rupees for the journey. Khan reportedly said that he had left Muthur beach in Trincomalee around 6 am on October 22 and travelled through the coastal waters off Kilinochchi and Mannar before reaching the Indian maritime boundary, where he boarded the boat sent from Tamil Nadu.
The two Sri Lankan nationals, Mohamed Khan and Mohamed Ashiq, also reportedly told the police that a person named Ramesh, from Kattankudy in Batticaloa district, had promised to arrange fake passports and facilitate their travel to London.
Ramesh allegedly claimed to be living in London and staying in Delhi at present. He had reportedly assured the two men that he would arrange fake passports for them if they entered India illegally.
The amount allegedly agreed upon for the arrangement was one crore Sri Lankan rupees, of which Rs 20 lakh in Sri Lankan currency was reportedly paid in advance through a bank transfer, according to the police.
The Q Branch police are continuing their investigation to establish the roles of those involved in the alleged illegal entry, the boat's operation and the proposed fake passport arrangement.
They are also probing whether others were involved in the suspected attempt to facilitate their travel to London.
Rameswaram Marine police booked all four accused person under multiple charges. Further investigation underway.
