Colombo (News 1st): The group of Sri Lankans arrested for illegally entering the Reunion Island, a French colony in the Indian Ocean, returned to the Island this evening (Feb 14) under the protection of French aauthorities.

On January 26th, the owner of a multi-day fishing boat had filed a complaint with the Negombo Police. He claimed that his boat which set off to sea on January 9th had gone missing. The fishing boat was named “Ve Prashansa”.

Following an investigation, it was revealed that the skipper of the boat had charged between Rs. 100,000 to Rs. 1 million each to smuggle a group of 70 people to Reunion Island, a French colony in the Indian Ocean. The boat had reached the island on February 5th. Among the 70 people are 05 children and 08 women. They are residents of Batticaloa, Kandy, Jaffna, Puttalam, and other rural areas.

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