Twenty-one (21) Indian men have been arrested for violating visa conditions, by operating an online shopping centre in Negombo, it was reported.
The men who were in Sri Lanka on tourist visas were apprehended by officials from the Department of Immigration and Emigration yesterday (Mar 12).
Following preliminary investigations, the department officials raided a house used by the suspects to operate the online shopping centre.
The group is reported to have taken advantage of the visa-free provision offered to several countries until March 31 as part of an ongoing pilot project to promote tourism.
However, Immigration Department officials said that people arriving in Sri Lanka via tourist visa are prohibited from engaging in paid or unpaid employment.
The arrested Indian nationals have been placed at the department’s detention centre in Welisara. (NewsWire)