Colombo emerging as gateway for Chinese mafia in Sri Lanka, raises national security concerns | Gravitas

Across the globe, thousands of lives have been ruined after being robbed of their hard-earned money by scam compounds. In 2025 for instance, scammers defrauded people in the Asia-Pacific region of a staggering 88 billion U.S. dollars.

Now, this menace is creeping into Sri Lanka too, with Colombo emerging as a gateway for the Chinese mafia.

While cyber compounds are usually associated only with countries like Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos, the global Chinese syndicate is reportedly trying to expand its operations into Sri Lanka.

The seriousness of this threat cannot be understated.

As per reports, senior police officials have already warned the country’s top leadership that Chinese organised crime groups could become a major national security threat if decisive action is not taken immediately.

But, what was the trigger for this alarm?

On July 23, a Chinese national named Hao Pan was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Sri Lanka’s Ehe-Liya-Ghoda town.

When the probe intensified, investigators found out that the deceased person was himself a part of an international Chinese cybercrime syndicate. He wanted to set up cybercrime operations in Sri Lanka.

What added to the intrigue is that he arrived in Sri Lanka six months ago along with his Chinese chef, physiotherapist and driver, each of whom reportedly received a monthly salary of 3,000 U.S. Dollars each.

His Vietnamese girlfriend and her pet dog also accompanied him.

As per reports, he escaped from Cambodia after refusing to share cybercrime profits with the Chinese mafia.

However, Hao had to pay a heavy price for this.

Members of the Chinese mafia reportedly entered the country only to hunt him down even as he kept changing his address.

On July 22, Hao was kidnapped in Colombo port city and taken to a remote location.

He was repeatedly assaulted by kidnappers armed with weapons who were trying to access millions of dollars allegedly parked in his Cambodian bank account.

Investigators also found that the kidnappers avoided using mobile phones and relied entirely on walkie-talkies to avoid detection by the police.

In an important breakthrough, a police officer photographed two members of the kidnapping team after getting suspicious of their behaviour. After Hao’s staff members identified them, their photos were sent to airport authorities in Colombo.

Subsequently, two suspects were nabbed as the airport’s facial recognition system identified them, while trying to flee to Singapore via an Air India flight.

Overall, eight Chinese channels are suspected to be linked to this kidnapping and murder.

While three have escaped abroad, three others are still believed to be hiding in Sri Lanka.

According to reports, Sri Lanka have sought the assistance of the Chinese embassy in extraditing the three suspects who fled overseas.

Based on the interrogation of the suspects, the Sri Lankan police uncovered how many Chinese cyber criminals have been using the special economic zone of Colombo port city as the focal point of their operations.

According to the police, the criminals first register shell companies within Colombo port city.

While these firms exist only on paper, they enable criminals to obtain visas by

falsely presenting themselves as company directors or skilled employees.

This is usually followed by these firms seeking permission to conduct business throughout Sri Lanka.

Now, this practically allows them to establish cybercrime centres in rented buildings and hotels with limited regulatory oversight.

The scale of this menace is shocking.

As per reports, the police have arrested nearly thousand foreign nationals including citizens of China, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam over the last few months after raiding ten cybercrime locations.

Sri Lankan authorities have also flagged the economic damage caused to the country due to the growing impact of large-scale smuggling operations of Chinese cigarettes, mobile phones and other goods.

Amid this, calls are growing for more effective action against this mafia to ensure relief for those trapped in cybercrime centres and for millions of vulnerable people across the world.