The group, previously sentenced by local courts, had been detained at the Immigration and Emigration Department’s Detention Centre in Welisara ahead of their deportation, reported Sri Lankan newspaper The Daily Mirror.

Officials told the newspaper that the Chinese nationals were transported to the airport under tight security in five buses and were boarded onto a special SriLankan Airlines flight.

A total of 85 Sri Lankan police officers, Immigration and Emigration Department officials, and 172 Sri Lankan Airlines security personnel accompanied the deportees to ensure that tight security arrangements were made during the deportation.

The special chartered flight, Sri Lankan Airlines UL-880, departed for Guangzhou, China, at 1:20 a.m. today, an officer told the newspaper.

It is one of the largest single group deportations reported in Sri Lanka in recent years.