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Agence France-Presse

Police in Sri Lanka have arrested more than 230 Chinese men accused of targeting international banks in online scams, the foreign minister said, with help from security officials sent by Beijing.
Vijitha Herath said police raids over the past week had also seized 250 computers and 500 mobile phones used in the alleged scams, with investigations into how much had been stolen still under way.
“They have mainly targeted foreign banks and financial institutions,” Herath said on Tuesday of the gangs targeted in the raids.
China’s embassy in Colombo said they had sent a “working group” of security officials to carry out “special operations” with Sri Lankan police.
“A large number of criminal suspects were arrested,” the embassy said in a statement, adding that “repatriation and other work” were ongoing.

The biggest raid was on Saturday, when police arrested 126 Chinese men, as well as two from Vietnam and one each from Thailand and the Philippines.
On Sunday, Deputy Inspector-General Nihal Thalduwa said nearly 200 men had been taken into custody at four locations during raids carried out since October 6.
Thalduwa said forensic experts were analysing the electronic devices that had been seized.
“We suspect that they were operating online scams from these locations,” Thalduwa told reporters in Colombo. “Their victims include people in Sri Lanka as well as those overseas.”
He said investigations were moving slowly due to language issues in questioning the suspects, but the authorities sought help from the Chinese embassy in Colombo.

Sri Lanka has a strong telecommunication infrastructure and was the first in South Asia to unroll a 5G network, in April 2019, three years before the country’s financial meltdown.
The embassy statement said China’s crackdown on cybercriminals at home may have pushed some to seek criminal opportunities abroad.
“China stands ready to further strengthen law enforcement cooperation with Sri Lanka”, the statement said.
In June, police arrested another 200 suspects, mainly Indians, who were also accused of operating online financial scams.
Thalduwa said the suspects had entered the island as tourists and, in most cases, were overstaying their visas.


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Police officers stand guard at a checkpoint in Colombo. The biggest raid was on Saturday, when police arrested 126 Chinese men. Photo: AFP

Police in Colombo. Officers also seized 250 computers and 500 mobile phones in the raids. Photo: Bloomberg

Sri Lanka’s foreign minister Vijitha Herath in Colombo. He said the scam gangs had mainly targeted foreign banks and financial institutions. Photo: Sri Lankan Government Information Department / AFP

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Dissanayake with India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in New Delhi in February. Photo: X/DrSJaishankar

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The iCon Group website. The direct sales company was founded six years ago by Waratpol Waratworakul. Photo: The iCon Group

The iCon Group’s Waratpol Waratworakul, aka “Boss Paul”. Photo: Handout

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Asia

South Asia

Cybercrime raids also uncovered two suspects from Vietnam, as well as one each from Thailand and the Philippines


Cybercrime raids also uncovered two suspects from Vietnam, as well as one each from Thailand and the Philippines.
