Sri Lanka detains more than 230 Chinese in cybercrime raids

Sri Lankan police have arrested more than 230 Chinese accused of defrauding international banks over the Internet, the foreign minister said on Tuesday, with the help of security officials sent by Beijing.

Vijitha Herath stated that last week’s police raids had also seized 250 computers and 500 mobile phones used in the alleged scamsand that how much had been stolen was still being investigated. “They have mainly focused on foreign banks and financial institutions,” Herath said of the gangs targeted by the raids.

The Chinese embassy in Colombo reported that it had sent a “task group” of security officials to carry out “special operations” with the Sri Lankan police.

“A large number of suspected criminals were arrested,” the embassy said in a statement, adding that “repatriation and other efforts” were being carried out. The biggest raid took place on Saturday, when police detained 126 Chinese, as well as two Vietnamese, a Thai and a Filipino.

Sri Lanka has a strong telecommunications infrastructure and was the first in South Asia to deploy a 5G network, in April 2019, three years before the country’s financial collapse. The embassy statement said China’s crackdown on cybercriminals at home may have pushed some to seek criminal opportunities abroad.

“China is willing to further strengthen police cooperation with Sri Lanka,” the statement said. In June, police arrested another 200 suspects, mostly Indians, also accused of carrying out online financial scams.