COLOMBO : A violent confrontation involving Chinese nationals in Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port City has evolved into an major criminal investigation amid emerging evidence that the dispute may be linked to a transnational cyber fraud operation allegedly associated with Chinese organized crime networks.
Police say the Chinese national who was abducted during the incident and later found dead has been identified as an individual allegedly connected to computer fraud activities.
Investigators have also uncovered information indicating that the Chinese nationals involved in the confrontation were not engaged in any lawful employment in Sri Lanka and had arrived in the country approximately four months ago.
Police said officers attached to the Colombo Crimes Division have begun extensive interrogations of two Chinese nationals currently in custody in connection with the murder investigation.
The two suspects were arrested at Bandaranaike International Airport yesterday afternoon while allegedly attempting to board a flight to Singapore.
After being produced before court today, police were granted permission to detain and question the suspects for 48 hours.
According to investigators, the confrontation between two groups of Chinese nationals unfolded in the early hours of Thursday (23) inside Colombo Port City.
Police said three Chinese nationals had gone onto the suspension bridge inside Port City at around 11.00 p.m. on the previous night to engage in fishing activities when, at approximately 2.00 a.m., a second group comprising around 20 Chinese nationals arrived at the location.
The group allegedly threatened the three men with firearms, assaulted them and abducted them.
Two of the victims were later found abandoned inside a van within Port City with their hands and legs bound, while the third man was taken away to an unknown location.
Hours later, the body of the abducted Chinese national was discovered in the Eheliyagoda area.
Investigators said the victim had sustained severe injuries and was found with his hands, legs and eyes bound.
Police also revealed that stones had been placed over the body in an apparent attempt to conceal it.
The victim’s body has been placed at the Avissawella Hospital mortuary.
According to our correspondent, the two surviving Chinese nationals who were with the victim at the time of the abduction were brought to Avissawella Hospital today (24) to formally identify the body.
Meanwhile, investigators have recovered a vehicle believed to have been used by those involved in the killing from the Eheliyagoda area.
A luxury jeep also suspected to be connected to the crime was discovered in the Pahala Bope area of Padukka last night.
The investigation has now been handed over to the Colombo Crimes Division.
The Police Spokesman said a report on the investigation will be submitted to the Inspector General of Police and the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka.
Police have also launched a special security operation under the supervision of the Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Colombo to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals residing in Colombo, including those living in and around Port City.
The case has gained added significance against the backdrop of a series of cybercrime and financial fraud investigations that have led to the arrest of large numbers of foreign nationals, including Chinese citizens, across Sri Lanka in recent months.
Authorities have previously disclosed that many of the alleged scam centres uncovered in different parts of the country were being supervised by individuals described as Chinese national coordinators.
Investigators have also pointed to the existence of a wider transnational cybercrime ecosystem allegedly linked to Chinese organized crime networks operating across multiple jurisdictions.
According to intelligence gathered through previous investigations, criminal groups based in the United Arab Emirates, including Dubai, are suspected of coordinating large-scale online fraud operations extending through countries such as Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.
However, increasing international pressure, coordinated law enforcement activity and extensive media exposure have significantly disrupted such operations in several of those countries.
Last year, authorities in the United Arab Emirates conducted a series of major raids targeting suspected cybercrime compounds, resulting in the deportation of large numbers of individuals.
Investigators say one of the most prominent organized crime groups repeatedly linked to such activities is the Chinese Triads network, a collection of transnational criminal organizations known for operating in cities around the world with significant Chinese-speaking populations.
Law enforcement authorities have also previously identified the use of so-called “pig butchering” investment and romance scams, an increasingly sophisticated cyber fraud technique that gained notoriety in criminal compounds across Myanmar and parts of Southeast Asia.
Investigators now suspect that elements of the same scam model may have found their way into Sri Lanka.
The discovery of an alleged cyber fraud connection, the apparent sophistication of the operation, the attempted departure of suspects from the country and the wider backdrop of international scam investigations have raised serious questions about whether Sri Lanka has become an emerging battleground in a much larger transnational criminal network stretching far beyond its borders. Newsfirst
