Sri Lankan court remands ex-Maldivian minister over online sex racket

Colombo, July 5 A Sri Lankan court on Monday remanded former state minister of finance of Maldives along with three other suspects over an online sex trafficking ring involving a 15-year-old girl.

The magistrate remanded the former Maldives minister, Mohamed Ashmalee, till July 16.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has also arrested the proprietor and financial manager of 'Lanka Ad', a website which carried out online sexual exploitation of a minor, along with the manager of a motel in Colombo which provided rooms for the offence.

The four were among the 32 suspects, which includes the mother of the minor, who have been arrested in connection with the child molesting probe so far.

The online sex trafficking ring that went on for nearly three months with the participation of the mother and step-father of the minor along with others in Mount Lavenia, a suburb of Colombo, was busted by the police in June.

The former Maldivian politician is the first foreign national to be arrested in connection with the case.

Deputy Inspector of Police (DIUG) Ajith Rohana said that four other websites were used to promote the under-age for sex in exchange of money.

According to Sri Lankan law, having sex with a minor below the age of 16 years is a criminal offence like rape, even with the consent of the girl.

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