Iranian using stolen passport deported

An Iranian national attempting to enter Sri Lanka using a stolen Italian passport was apprehended by Immigration and Emigration Department officials at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) yesterday morning (16).

Immediate steps were taken to deport the individual.

The 40-year-old Iranian arrived on Air Arabia from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, at approximately 4:25 am. He attempted to obtain an on-arrival visa by presenting an Italian passport. However, upon checking the passport against the Interpol database, officials confirmed it was reported as missing or stolen.

Following this discovery, the Immigration Department referred the case to the National Central Bureau (NCB) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Colombo, which reconfirmed that the passport was stolen.

During the investigation, the Iranian national discreetly retrieved his original passport and attempted to use it at another immigration counter. Alert immigration officers detected the move and referred him back for further scrutiny.

The Italian passport was handed over to the Border Surveillance Unit for technical analysis, and initial inquiries revealed that the Iranian man intended to use Sri Lanka as a transit point to escape to Europe.

Given the confirmation that the passport was stolen, the Iranian national was placed on the same Air Arabia flight he had arrived on and deported to Sharjah.

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