Daijiworld Media Network - Colombo

Colombo, May 3: In a significant crackdown on international cybercrime networks, Sri Lankan police have arrested more than 130 foreign nationals over the past two days for their alleged involvement in organised online fraud operations.

Police said the coordinated raids were part of ongoing efforts to dismantle cross-border cybercrime syndicates operating from the island nation.

In one operation carried out in Thalangama, a suburb of Colombo, 37 Chinese nationals were arrested on Saturday. Among them was a woman, while two individuals were found to be without valid visas and one without a passport. All those arrested were aged between 24 and 44, police said.

In a separate raid conducted on Sunday in Rajagiriya, another Colombo suburb, over 100 individuals were taken into custody from a rented apartment. The suspects belonged to multiple countries, including China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Madagascar, the Philippines, Thailand and Cambodia, and were allegedly engaged in online fraud activities.

All those arrested have been booked under Sri Lanka’s Computer Crimes Act, which deals with offences such as hacking, data misuse and cyber fraud.

Police officials noted that the latest action follows a series of similar crackdowns in recent months. In April, around 150 foreign nationals, most of them Chinese, were arrested in Chilaw city in connection with an alleged online financial fraud racket.

Authorities stated that such groups are often part of larger international syndicates targeting victims abroad using digital platforms. Officials also indicated that Sri Lanka’s connectivity and ease of visa access may have made it susceptible to such activities, with several suspects reportedly entering the country on short-term permits.