Sri Lanka: Sex mafias at the International Airport?
(January 25, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The airport of a country is not only a gateway for a new experience but also reflects the image of the host nation.
According to Minister of Aviation Services, Faizer Mustapha it is important to prevent the malpractices of fraud and corruption that takes place within the airport.
News 1st, the local television channel in Sri Lanka, was provided with footage that shows extortion that takes place at the Bandaranaike International Airport, and also the harassing of passengers.
The attached video shows the final gate for boarding, for passengers at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Kantunayake.
After being checked and cleared for travel, passengers enter the boarding area through this gate.
If officers at this area are suspicions of any passenger, the passenger is escorted to a room within the premises and is inspected. The inspection takes place with the passenger in question being requested to strip down.
According to Airport Security, for such an inspection, it takes a minimum of ten minutes.
Yet, some passengers are escorted to this room for inspection, sometimes for absurd reasons and are released within seconds.
This situation has led to suspicions of alleged money extortion taking place inside this inspection room.
The footage also shows a group of security officers dressed in civil attire extorting money from a passenger.
Another phase of extortion takes place at the exit gate of the airport. This time it is the dealers at the airport who are taking part in this alleged malpractice.
The footage shows how money is being extorted from transport providers who arrange vehicles for migrant workers who return to Sri Lanka from the Middle-East.
Airport Security is only allowed to have Rs.300 in their possession while in the Airport. Although it looks simple enough, the monitors of these cameras work with a hawk-eye to capture these malpractices on camera.
Yet, the authorities do not seem to be interested in stopping the malpractices.
It is alleged that sexual harassment also takes place within the airport.
The new revelation is the extortion of money from female migrant workers who return from the Middle East and the sexual harassment of female foreign nationals.
However, note that officers, who perform their duties to the letter, do not fall in to this category.
Sri Lankan migrant workers who are employed in the Middle East and other countries generate the highest foreign exchange for the country. According to the statistics, the revenue generated last year alone tops a staggering Rs. 823 billion.
Migrant workers who make the ultimate sacrifice of leaving their families and earn an income in a foreign land are not left alone by these devious security officers at the airport who hunt down these innocent women – like hawks.
Airport security is charged with extorting money from women who return to the country with a large quantity of foreign goods.
It is reported that, failing to pay these corrupt officials result in unnecessary delays and pressure at the airport.
Most often than not, the luggage of some expatriates go missing – in light of their refusal to fill the pockets of these corrupt officials.
Sources from the airport report that it not a tough task to put a complete stop to this extortion Mafia.
However, it seems that none of the authorities are interested in putting full stop to it due to the political influence created through various unions and association.
As highlighted by the News1st expose on Saturday night on our prime time news bulletins, an airport security officer is only allowed to have Rs.300 in his or her possession while on duty.
Therefore, nabbing corrupt security officers during a spot inspection is deemed an easy task.
Another malpractice that is alleged to be taking place at the BIA is the sex mafia. It is reported that female foreign nationals come under the close scrutiny of certain security officials who harass these women for sexual pleasure.
