Online scam: suspects to be deported

Rasika SOMARATHNA

The 100 Chinese nationals arrested for an online currency fraud scam on Friday night, are to be deported shortly to face charges for the offences they have committed in their own countries, the Police said.

Police Spokesman SSP Prishantha Jayakody said 74 men and 26 women from China and Chinese Taipei were arrested in Colombo for defrauding Yuan 2.9 million from their own countrymen, following a lengthy investigation by both the CID and the Chinese Police.

Jayakody said the arrested had defrauded their wealthy countrymen, first by accessing their accounts online and then by forcing them to transfer monies to other accounts while instigating fear in their minds threatening them over the internet.

The suspects were ordered to be remanded until January 7. The Criminal Investigations Department is investigating.

The Police Spokesman in a statement noted that Chinese Police had been conducting an investigation about the fraud for some time and had identified several locations within Sri Lanka from where the suspects were accessing the Internet.

Jayakody said that the arrested were between the ages of 20 and 30. Officers had also seized several equipment from their possession, including computers and telephones used for their activities.