Mastermind in Indian Visa racket arrested in Wattegama

Colombo Crime Division of Police announced the arrest of a mastermind of an organized network  that issued Indian visas at a high price. Police said that an employee engaged in data processing had conducted the racket by hacking the website of the Kandy Visa Centre affiliated with the Indian High Commission.

Police have taken into custody a laptop computer and a smartphone used for the massive fraud, along with the suspect,

A team of police officers, including Inspector Duminda Jayathilaka, investigated in this regard on the instructions of Colombo Crime Division’s ASP Neville De Silva.Chief Local Representative of the Indian High Commissioner’s Office at Philip Gunawardena Mawatha, Bambalapitiya provided confidential information to the police that Indian visas were being sold at a higher price.Police uncovered the information about the suspect after a lengthy investigation.

Police say that they were able to arrest the suspect who was participating in a wedding ceremony in Wattegama, Kandy after surveillance. He was contacted by a police agent who appeared as a person seeking a visa. A smartphone and a laptop computer used in the racket were also taken into custody. The suspect had sold a visa usually given at Rs.8,000 at an exorbitant price of Rs. 50,000.

The investigation further revealed that the suspect has created a website mentioning the information of the Indian Visa Centre located at William Gopallawa Mawatha, Kandy and has been issuing fake and fraudulent visas for the past three years.

Police say that the arrested suspect had worked in a computer centre near the Indian Visa Centre some time ago.

Last February 15, the visa centre attached to the Indian High Commission located at Philip Gunawardena Mawatha, Bambalapitiya, was broken into and a laptop of the chief local representative was also stolen.