The Ministry of Women and Child Affairs has taken necessary action with regard to the recent reports of Sri Lankan children being trafficked overseas, State Minister of Women and Child Affairs Geetha Kumarasinghe said today.
Addressing the Parliament, State Minister Geetha Kumarasinghe said that it has been found that 13 children have been trafficked to Malaysia to be sold to European countries.
She further said that instructions have been issued to the Department of Immigration and Emigration and the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) to immediately conduct an investigation into the matter.
The Ministry’s involvement comes after the Police recently revealed that 13 children have been trafficked to the UK and France via Malaysia.
A complaint on child trafficking had been filed at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) by the Controller General of the Department of Immigration and Emigration.
Investigations by the CID found that children of Tamil origin below the age of 18 years from the North-Western Province had been trafficked to Malaysia.
It was further found that the children were taken to Malaysia via official passports and from there they were sent to the UK and France using forged passports.
The CID investigations have found that a total of 13 children have already been trafficked to Malaysia as of now, while information has also come to light on the involvement of a broker operating the racket. (NewsWire)