A Deputy Controller of the Immigration and Emigration Department and a former Deputy Controller have been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for allegedly helping two underworld figures flee the country by providing them with fake passports.

They have allegedly prepared fake passports to underworld figures Nuresh Supun Dayaratne alias “Heenatiyana Mahesh” and Shan Arosh Liyanage alias “Mathugama Shan”.

After an investigation into the incident, the two were taken into Police custody and a senior CID official said that further statements will be taken from them to obtain more information about the incident as well as whether they have prepared passports in this manner to help other criminals.

Police suspect that the two suspects may have received large sums of money to prepare these passports.

Investigations have uncovered that the suspect, a Deputy Controller of the Immigration and Emigration Department, had provided “Heenatiyana Mahesh” with a fake passport and the former Deputy Controller of the  department had prepared a forged passport for “Mathugama Shan”.

In one passport prepared for “Heenatiyana Mahesh”  a false name called “Manikkuge Dinesh Silva” has been entered with a fake passport number and a fake national identity card (NIC) number.

Meanwhile,  the former Deputy Controller of the department is said to have prepared a fake passport for “Mathugama Shan” under the false name Donagoda Liyanage Kumara Jayasinghe.

The suspects have been arrested based on an investigation conducted under the supervision of the DIG in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department Premaratne.

The Criminal Investigation Department further states that the suspected former Deputy Controller of the Immigration and Emigration Department is currently working as a Deputy Director at the Pensions Department.

A senior officer of the Immigration and Emigration Department said that an internal investigation has been started regarding the conduct of these two officials.

(dailynews.lk)