A total of 61 Bangladesh nationals suspected of trying to travel illegally to Italy to seek job opportunities were arrested on Friday by Sri Lankan police.

Police said that the group of Bangladeshis were arrested in a hotel in the capital Colombo, where they were preparing for their illegal entry into Italy.

The suspected Bangladesh illegal migrants were sent to a detention camp and will be deported soon, police said.

In recent years Sri Lanka has become a transition point for illegal migrants, most of them from South Asian countries, who attempted to travel to Europe illegal and obtain jobs there.
 
In the past year hundreds of illegal migrants from neighboring India, Pakistan and Bangladesh including Sri Lankan nationals were arrested by Sri Lankan authorities.

(Xinhua News Agency September 25, 2004)