COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office

SRI LANKA 7 MARCH 2012
bags one containing medical records and another containing medication for some of the
returnees was also handed to the DIE officials.
After some minutes the returnees were split into two groups of 26 and placed on two buses with
a small number of airport security officials and driven to the main airport terminal. The first
returnees were dropped at the entrance to the immigration arrivals hall at 1058hrs. All of the
returnees were escorted to a seating area adjacent to the transfer desk which had been
specifically created for this flight and cordoned off using temporary barriers. Officials from the
Department of Immigration & Emigration (DIE) had arranged for five tables with three person
bench seats and individual chairs to be placed in front of the seating area. These were then
used by their officers to conduct interviews with the returnees.
From the British High Commission the Deputy High Commissioner, the Returns Liaison
Assistant and I were waiting in the immigration arrivals hall along with officials from the Police
Criminal Investigations Department (CID), SIS and airport security. DIE had brought in a team
of Tamil speaking officers, and CID and SIS had also drafted in extra staff specifically to assist
their airport based colleagues in processing the charter flight returnees.
As the returnees were taking to their seats I addressed them in English. I explained who I was
and what procedures they were about to go through, and offered them words of reassurance
about the process and the amount of time it would take. I explained that we would assist them in
contacting waiting relatives or friends, although DIE officials had instructed us to wait until they
had been cleared to proceed before doing this. I added that I would reunite them with their
baggage and personal belongings and reiterated that I would remain at the airport until the last
one of them had been cleared. None of the returnees appeared ill or distressed in any way. The
only question asked was ―Are there any media outside?‖ I explained that I had not been
informed that the media were outside, but for previous charter flights there had been. I said that
I would find out and added that they should be aware of potential cameras/reporters on leaving
the customs area.
The escorting officers who had accompanied the returnees on the flight were brought to the
airport terminal in two further buses and passed through the transit area and proceeded into the
departure lounge.
At 1120hrs officials from the DIE began interviewing the returnees at the tables in front of the
seating area, with one immigration officer dealing with one returnee at a time. The purpose of
these interviews was to confirm the identity and nationality of the returnee and for the first time
DIE took a digital photograph of each returnee. The remaining returnees waited in the seating
area and were allowed to use toilet facilities under the supervision of airport security staff. A
water dispenser was available in the seating area. DIE subsequently completed all of their
interviews of the 52 returnees by 1440hrs.
After the interviewing process had commenced I went to the baggage reclaim area to liaise with
the handling agents, Sri Lankan Airlines, after receiving a call from the Deputy High
Commissioner who was in the baggage hall. The returnees baggage had appeared on reclaim
belt number 5. I was concerned and telephoned the Airport Duty Manager to request airport
security personnel be provided to ensure the security of the returnees baggage. Security
officers and baggage handlers subsequently off-loaded the baggage from the carousel, and
placed it in two containers which were positioned in a secure area behind baggage reclaim belt
3 with security officials present.
236 The main text of this COI Report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 3 February 2012.
Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section
to 2 March 2012.