15 Chinese nationals arrested in Kotte over online scams

Another group of 15 Chinese nationals allegedly involved in online financial scams have been arrested at Welikada in Kotte, police said.

Police spokesman DIG Nihal Thalduwa said that the police have also taken custody of 15 desktop computers and 15 mobile phones which were in the possession of the arrested individuals.

Sri Lanka Police have so far arrested around 180 Chinese nationals, who were allegedly involved in online financial scams, from various parts of the island within the month of October.

On Saturday (12), a group of 129 Chinese nationals were arrested in the Kundasale area, where the police had also seized over 100 laptops and a large number of mobile phones which were taken into custody from 47 rooms in a luxury bungalow in Kundasale.

Additionally, the police had arrested 20 Chinese nationals who were staying at a hotel in the Gorakana area of Panadura without valid visas together with a significant number of electronic devices, including 5 laptops, 437 mobile phones, 332 USB cables, 133 mobile phone chargers, 21 USB wire cords, 17 routers, 2 iPhones, and other accessories. The items are suspected to be linked to potential financial fraud and scams.

Earlier, on October 06, a group of 40 foreigners staying in Sri Lanka who were involved in online financial scams were arrested in a hotel in Gampaha and a private institution in Hanwella. The group included 30 Chinese, 4 Indian and 6 Thai nationals. During the raid, the police had also taken 499 mobile phones, 25 laptops and 29 desktop computers into custody.