Sri Lankan authorities have arrested 21 Indian nationals for illegally operating an online marketing centre in the island nation, violating the relaxed tourist visa norms, a media report said on Wednesday.

The 21 Indian men in the age group of 24 to 25, who were in Sri Lanka on tourist visas, were taken into custody on Tuesday by the Department of Immigration and Emigration, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported.

After a preliminary inquiry, the department raided a rented house in Negombo city, where those arrested were found operating an online marketing centre. The house had been converted into an office space where computers and other devices had been installed, the report said.

Under Sri Lanka's law, those who visit the island nation on tourist visas are prohibited from engaging in any paid or unpaid work.

The Indian nationals had used the free-of-charge visa condition that Sri Lanka has granted to a set of countries till March 31 as part of an ongoing pilot project to promote tourism in the cash-strapped country.

They had arrived in Sri Lanka in February and March on tourist visas, a senior immigration official told the newspaper.

The arrested Indian nationals were transferred to the department’s detention centre in Welisara on the orders of relevant authorities, the report said.

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