The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested three individuals, including a railway employee, over a large-scale racket involving the resale of e-tickets for up-country train journeys, particularly those to the popular tourist destination of Ella.

Police Media Spokesman SSP Buddhika Manathunga revealed that a Technical Officer from the Department of Railways was apprehended in Trincomalee on 22 January, with 92 e-tickets allegedly intended for resale to foreign tourists.

A second suspect linked to the racket was arrested in Matale the following day. Both arrests were part of an ongoing investigation to identify those supplying e-tickets to the suspects, SSP Manathunga added.

Separately, the Kandy Divisional Crimes Unit detained a 37-year-old man in Suduhumpola, Kandy, also implicated in the scheme. He was found with 21 tickets for the ‘Ella Odyssey’ luxury train, Rs. 130,670 in cash suspected to be profits from illegal sales, 130 notepads recording prior transactions, and a mobile phone.

The three suspects are set to be presented before Colombo Magistrate’s Court on 23 January, while further investigations continue to dismantle the network behind this operation.