July 02, Kalkudha: Sri Lanka police in the pre-dawn hours of today have arrested six people attempting to illegally migrate to Australia from a coastal hamlet in the Eastern Province.

The suspects, between 18 to 34 years old were arrested by the Kalkudha police at the Aliyagala coastal area in Kalkudha, a coastal town located about 35 kilometers northwest of Batticaloa, the police said.

The illegal migrants, who were from the Valaichchenai area, are to be produced before the Valaichchenai Magistrate Court today.

The Kalkuda Police said it's conducting further investigations to identify the mastermind of the human smuggling operation.

Meanwhile, the Kataragama police acting on a tip-off have arrested five men who had been staying an inn in the Kataragama area waiting to be smuggled out to Australia Sunday, the police media unit said.

The suspected illegal migrants were Tamil residents of the Udappuwa, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu and Negombo areas. They had been ordered to stay in the inn by the smuggler.

The police have launched a special operation to arrest the smuggler.

Recently there have been an increasing number of attempts to illegally migrate to Australia and authorities suspect an international human smuggling racket.