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Sri Lankan police arrest 200 people, mostly Indians, over online financial fraud
Columbus:
Sri Lankan police have arrested at least 200 foreigners, mostly Indians, for allegedly engaging in online financial scams, a media report said on Saturday.
The Criminal Investigations Department also discovered that funds obtained through these frauds were deposited into bank accounts in the UK, Dubai and India.
News portal NewsFirst.lk quoted Criminal Investigation Department officials as saying there were Chinese, Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Nepali nationals among those arrested, but most of them were Indian citizens.
About 400 computers used by the suspects are being investigated.
Earlier on Friday, police spokesperson SSP Nihal Thalduwa said around 60 Indians were arrested on Thursday in the Colombo suburbs of Madiwela and Battaramulla and the western coastal city of Negombo.
The CID carried out simultaneous raids in these areas, resulting in the seizure of 135 cell phones and 57 laptops.
The crackdown was the result of a complaint from a victim who was lured into a WhatsApp group promising money for interactions on social media.
Police said the arrests exposed international links in Dubai and Afghanistan, although the victims included locals and foreigners.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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