Sri Lanka Detains 1,000 Foreign Scam Suspects and Charges Visa Breaches

Sri Lankan police say they have detained more than 1,000 foreign suspects in raids on suspected cyber-scam compounds this year, yet the country has not secured a single successful prosecution of anyone accused of running scams from its territory. Instead, most of those arrested are being charged over visa violations and removed from the country, police spokesman Fredrick Wootler said.

Key facts

• Police raided 27 suspected scam compounds between January and September
• More than 1,000 people were arrested, against 26 in 2025 and 573 the year before
• No successful prosecution has been secured in a transnational scam case
• Most suspects are charged with visa violations and removed from Sri Lanka
• Sri Lanka offers visa-free travel to passport holders from 40 countries

Why has no one been prosecuted?

Wootler said the obstacle is Sri Lanka's computer crime law, which dates from 2007. Under that law, a case can only be opened on the basis of a complaint from a victim. Because most of the people being scammed live abroad, few complaints have reached Sri Lankan authorities.

As a result, the vast majority of suspected scammers are dealt with as immigration offenders rather than cybercrime suspects. Wootler said the current government is keen to see such criminal networks taken out of Sri Lanka.

Who is being arrested?

Chandima Arumapperuma, who heads the police cyber crime unit, said most of those detained carry passports from Asian countries including China, Vietnam, India and Indonesia. Many arrived with travel records showing previous stays in Cambodia or Myanmar, both described as well-known scam hubs.

She said investigations are hampered by language barriers and encrypted devices. Each raid typically yields around 200 phones and laptops, and police do not have the resources to process all of them.

Why are syndicates moving to Sri Lanka?

Experts say scam syndicates, many of Chinese origin, have been pushed out of Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia by recent crackdowns and are setting up in other vulnerable states. The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) said last month that Sri Lanka is at serious risk of becoming a hub for industrial-scale cyber scams.

GI-TOC expert Jason Tower pointed to the country's need for foreign exchange, its visa-free travel for passport holders from 40 countries including China, its opening to online gambling and casino investment, and the Colombo Port City special economic zone aimed at digital economy investors. He said Sri Lanka is "on the threshold" of its scam operations becoming open and obvious rather than clandestine.

What this means for travellers

Foreign nationals who breach their visa conditions can be charged and removed from Sri Lanka, as the handling of the arrested suspects shows. Travellers should check whether their nationality is on the country's visa-free list before booking and comply with whatever entry conditions apply to them.

No changes to Sri Lanka's visa or entry rules have been announced as part of these enforcement actions. The policing figures cover the period from January to September.