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A senior sports official from the island nation revealed on Sunday that the Commonwealth Games delegation in Birmingham has vanished in what is thought to be an attempt to stay in Britain (Aug 7).
The official, who asked to remain anonymous, claimed that the 9 athletes and a manager disappeared after finishing their events.
Judoka Chamila Dilani, her manager Asela de Silva, and wrestler Shanith Chathuranga were three of those who had vanished the previous week.
The Sri Lankan authorities filed a police report as a result.
Without naming them, the official continued, "Since then, another 7 have disappeared." "We assume they want to stay in the UK, perhaps to find work."
The administration of the 160-strong Sri Lankan contingent has access to each member's passport to guarantee their safe return.
That didn't stop some people from leaving.
The first three missing persons were found by British police, but no action was taken against them, according to a Sri Lankan official, because they had not broken any local laws and had six-month visas.
In order to prevent defections, the police actually persuaded us to return the passports we were holding, the official claimed.
"The cops haven't let us know where they are,"
Athletes from Sri Lanka have reportedly gone missing from international competitions in the past.
The manager of Sri Lanka's wrestling squad disappeared in Oslo while competing in a world championship in October of last year.
Two Sri Lankan athletes fled the scene during the Asian Games in South Korea in 2014 and were never located.
When Sri Lanka didn't even have a national handball team in 2004, a 23-person team posing as Sri Lankans tricked their way to a competition in Germany and then vanished.