Fake Email: There are bombs in the plane that arrived from Doha to Katunayake

A strict security check was carried out on a flight that arrived at Katunayake Bandaranaike International Airport this morning (28) from Doha, due to information received regarding it. The reason for this was a message received at the official email address of Katunayake Airport stating that there were four individuals on board the flight, which arrived at the airport at 8:27 AM carrying 245 passengers, who were preparing to carry out an explosion.

Regarding this information, airport authorities immediately took action and questioned the pilot of the relevant aircraft. The pilot confirmed that there was no unsafe situation inside the aircraft.

Despite the pilot's statement, authorities took steps to move the aircraft to a special secure apron after it landed. Subsequently, all passengers and crew were disembarked, and the aircraft was subjected to a thorough inspection by expert teams, including the bomb disposal unit. However, the police confirmed that no suspicious objects or individuals were found inside the aircraft during this search operation.

Following the inspections, the aircraft was brought back to the regular apron and departed for Doha, Qatar at 1:07 PM, according to airport sources. Accordingly, the police concluded that this was false information, similar to the information received on the 26th regarding a bomb at the Kandy District Secretariat premises.

Preliminary investigations conducted by the police revealed that both these email messages were sent to Sri Lanka from a foreign country. The police further stated that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and intelligence agencies have launched a comprehensive investigation to identify individuals carrying out such subversive acts.