Welikada OIC arrested over Chinese nationals’ passports

The Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Welikada Police Station has been arrested for allegedly illegally withholding the passports of 19 Chinese nationals and demanding Rs. 300,000 from each person to release the documents.

The suspect OIC was arrested by officers of the Central Crime Investigation Bureau in the Veyangoda area following a complaint received over the incident.

According to reports, the 19 Chinese nationals had initially been detained by police in the Rajagiriya area.

Investigations revealed that the Welikada Police OIC had later kept their passports in his possession and allegedly attempted to extort money in exchange for returning the travel documents.

Preliminary police investigations have further revealed that the OIC had allegedly used a woman as an intermediary to collect the money from the Chinese nationals on his behalf.

The arrested police officer is due to be produced before court while further investigations into the incident are continuing.