The arrests came a month after 152 foreign nationals, mostly Chinese, were detained for allegedly running a cyberscam operation from a hotel in the island’s northwest.
Immigration authorities arrested 135 Chinese men and women in March for allegedly operating a similar scam. They have since been deported.
Beijing’s embassy in Colombo said at the time that it was working closely with local authorities to prevent Chinese nationals from engaging in scam operations in Sri Lanka.
The embassy said Sri Lanka’s telecommunications infrastructure, favourable geographical location and relatively lenient visa policies had encouraged fraud gangs to move to the South Asian nation.
In 2024, Sri Lankan authorities detained 230 Chinese nationals and 200 Indians accused of operating cybercrime centres in various parts of the island.
