ලංකාවේ මෑත සයිබර් ප්‍රහාරවලට රාජගිරියේ 'චීන ටීම් එක' හවුල්දැයි සැකයක්

Even before the heat of the disappearance of 2.5 million US dollars from the Sri Lanka Treasury via cyberspace faded, the dark curtain of a massive internet money heist that emerged right in the middle of the capital is now opening.

Colombo Additional Magistrate Mr. Nuwan Kaushalya yesterday (06) ordered the further remand of 120 foreigners arrested with computers and money worth over 150 million rupees, which were maintained under strict security in a seven-story luxury housing complex located on Welikada Road in the middle of Rajagiriya.

Among this group, representing countries such as China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Madagascar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Cambodia, there are 89 males and 31 females. Due to the difficulty in revealing their names, these individuals, who were presented to the court via Zoom technology through a language interpreter, were identified in court solely by numbers. This network, including 28 individuals who had entered the country even without visas, operated completely isolated from normal society. Within this building, where no one outside the gate's register was allowed entry, even employees were prohibited from leaving their designated floor. The provision of 15 luxury vehicles for their transportation and separate institutions for food supply clearly illustrates the extremely secretive and organized nature of this operation.

Chief Police Inspector Saman Jayasinghe, OIC of Welikada Police, informed the court that there is strong suspicion of a connection between this international gang and the recent cyber attack on the Treasury. According to police intelligence, when the police raided the fifth floor on the 2nd, the suspects behaved riotously, and several of them escaped, making this operation even more mysterious. Although 151 desktop computers, 51 laptops, and 266 smartphones have already been taken into police custody, only the equipment on the first floor has been inspected so far, which indicates the true scale of this network. It has already been revealed that money has been circulated to bank accounts in more than five foreign countries through this operation.

Although lawyers representing the suspects requested bail, stating that there was no evidence summary report, the Magistrate firmly rejected the request, considering the complexity of the investigation and the threat to public safety. Orders have now been issued to the Kotte Municipal Commissioner to find the building owners who provided a haven for this crime, which involved human trafficking, cybercrime, and illegal employment; to the Criminal Investigation Department to find investors and supporters; and to the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission to find the networks that provided internet facilities. The police also revealed, by presenting a secret parcel printed with Chinese characters to the court, that the true masterminds of this large-scale operation are still invisible.

Operating behind luxurious curtains, hidden from the eyes of the law, this cyber mafia could be just one shadow of the most terrifying international invasion Sri Lanka faces in the digital age.