The Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Welikada Police Station has been arrested for illegally withholding the passports of a group of Chinese nationals and attempting to extort money for their release.It was reported that the suspect OIC was arrested by officials from the Central Crimes Investigation Bureau in the Veyangoda area.The arrest follows an incident where 19 Chinese nationals were initially detained by police in Rajagiriya. The OIC had subsequently held onto their passports, allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs. 300,000 per person to return the travel documents to their rightful owners.

Investigations have revealed that the OIC had channeled his extortion demands through a female intermediary to collect the money.