Sri Lanka seeks six suspects in Chinese national's murder linked to cybercrimes

Sri Lankan police are searching for six people suspected of murdering a Chinese national linked to computer-related scams, amid a crackdown on transnational fraud networks.

By Uditha Jayasinghe COLOMBO, July 30 - Sri Lankan police are searching for six people ‌regarding the suspected murder of a Chinese national suspected of links to computer-related scams, an official said on Thursday, in a crackdown on cyberscam centres tied to transnational fraud networks.

Authorities have arrested about 700 foreign nationals this year, ‌Indians, Chinese, Nepalis and Vietnamese among them, or nearly double the 2025 figure, from hotels, rented houses ‌and apartments nationwide, police data showed. Police believe the Chinese national, whose body was retrieved a week ago from the town of Eheliyagoda, about 60 km from Colombo, was abducted in the island nation's commercial capital.

"Three suspects linked to the murder are believed to ⁠be in Sri ​Lanka and we have ⁠imposed a travel ban on them," police spokesman Frederick Wootler told Reuters. "Three suspects who managed to leave the country are ⁠being traced with support from Interpol."

Two Chinese nationals linked to the murder have been arrested and will be presented in court ​on August 4, he added, while declining to reveal the identity of the victim. He is suspected ⁠to be part of a larger group of Chinese nationals linked to computer-related scams, two police sources told Reuters, speaking on condition ⁠of ​anonymity. The Chinese foreign ministry did not comment directly on the case, but said on Friday that Beijing was willing to strengthen cooperation with all countries to jointly combat cross-border crime.

The Chinese embassy in Colombo ⁠did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The nationwide raids turned up hundreds of mobile telephones, laptops and ⁠desktop computers, leading authorities ⁠to suspect the foreign nationals had ties to cybercrime networks, they said. Most of those arrested appeared in court before being deported for overstaying their visas or for working ‌on tourist visas.