231 Foreign Nationals Arrested Sri Lanka in Cyber Raids

Sri Lanka – (Web Desk) – Sri Lanka police confirmed that 231 foreign nationals arrested Sri Lanka during a series of raids on suspected cyberscam centres in the capital city. The suspects are mostly Chinese and Vietnamese citizens. Authorities carried out the operations over several days, starting from the weekend.

Most of the people arrested had entered Sri Lanka on tourist visas. Police say they were illegally working at these scam centres. Some had also overstayed their visas well beyond the allowed period.

Police spokesman Frederick Wootler confirmed the situation clearly. He said the foreign nationals were found working without legal permission on Sri Lankan soil.

The first two raids took place on Sunday. A total of 157 people were arrested from two separate locations. Just days later, on Wednesday, police raided a third location and arrested 74 more suspects.

A magistrate in Colombo then ordered a full forensic examination. Computers and mobile phones seized during the Wednesday raid will be carefully examined. Equipment from the Sunday raids had already been sent to forensic experts.

These scam centres were allegedly running large-scale online fraud operations. Crime groups around the world use such centres to cheat people out of money. Common methods include fake romantic relationships online and cryptocurrency investment scams.

Victims are tricked over days or weeks before losing large sums of money. Experts say these crime groups earn tens of billions of dollars every year through these methods.

This is not the first time Sri Lanka has seen such arrests. Just one month before these raids, police detained 152 foreign nationals — again mostly Chinese — at a hotel in the island’s northwest. They were accused of running a similar operation.

Earlier in March, immigration officials arrested 135 Chinese men and women for allegedly running another scam centre. All of them have since been deported back to China.

Even further back, in 2024, Sri Lankan authorities arrested 230 Chinese nationals and 200 Indians for operating cybercrime centres across different parts of the island.

China’s embassy in Colombo has spoken on the matter. Officials said they were working closely with Sri Lankan authorities to stop Chinese nationals from getting involved in such activities.

The embassy also pointed out why Sri Lanka has become attractive to these fraud gangs. The country has a good telecommunications network, a convenient location in South Asia, and relatively easy visa rules. These factors together make it easier for criminal groups to set up operations there.

Forensic teams will analyse all the devices seized during the raids. Investigators are expected to trace the full network behind these scam operations. Deportation proceedings are likely to follow for many of those arrested.

Sri Lankan authorities have made it clear that cracking down on cybercrime is a top priority. The repeated arrests show that the country is actively working to stop foreign crime groups from using its land for illegal activities.