Four Maldivians were arrested late Saturday after illegally flying a drone near Sri Lanka’s Bandaranaike International Airport.
Lanka Police Spokesperson revealed that three males and one female aged between 19 and 23 were taken into custody.
According to the statement released by Police, the suspects would be taken to court in Negombo on Sunday.
Local media Mihaaru reported that the court will either extend their remand or release them on bail.
If the drone was found to have been registered, the locals would be released. However, Police have explicitly stated that the locals were unauthorized to fly their drone. Furthermore, the drone was used in a high-security zone of the airport.
Drone Law in Lanka state that all drones that have cameras and/or weighs 200 grams or more, must be registered with the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka. Additionally, they can only be flown in clear daylight and is strictly banned within an 8 Kilometre radius of any airport.
Notably, this is the first arrest in the country in relation to illegal operations of a drone near an airport.
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