Sri Lankan police have arrested 231 foreign nationals, mostly Chinese and Vietnamese, following raids on suspected cyberscam centres in the capital since the weekend, officials said on Thursday.
Crime groups internationally have carried out online cons, defrauding victims of tens of billions of dollars annually, often through cryptocurrency scams and phoney romantic relationships.
In Sri Lanka, authorities cracked down on two suspected cyber scam centres on Sunday, arresting a total of 157 people.
An additional 74 people were arrested on Wednesday at a third location.
“They had entered the country on tourist visas and were illegally employed, while some had overstayed their visas,” police spokesperson Frederick Wootler said.
A Colombo magistrate ordered a forensic examination of computers and mobile phones seized from the alleged scam centre in Colombo’s Kollupitiya area on Wednesday.
Computer and communications equipment found with the suspects arrested on Sunday had already been sent for analysis, officials said.
