Hundreds of Chinese men arrested over online scams in Sri Lanka

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.