News
Chinese help for CID to tackle cybercrime
View(s):By Ishu Bandara
The Chinese Government has sent a team of 10 law enforcement officials to assist in tackling cybercrime involving foreign nationals. The visit came in response to a diplomatic request from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Sri Lanka.
A meeting with the visiting delegation was held at CID headquarters in Colombo last Monday. The Chinese team, consisting of Police Supervisor Yang Wang Feng, along with officials from the Ministry of Public Security of China, cyber investigation experts, and other Police officials, will stay in Sri Lanka for one month to help combat this growing threat.
The Chinese delegation and CID officials (Pix by Priyanka Samaraweera)
The move comes as Sri Lanka is struggling with a rising trend of cybercriminal activities, particularly involving foreign nationals from countries such as China, Malaysia, and India. In recent months, Lankan authorities have arrested 72 suspects linked to online gambling and other cybercrimes. However, the investigation has been interrupted by language barriers, as many of the suspects speak Mandarin, making communication and the analysis of digital evidence difficult.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Rohan Premaratne of the CID stated, “Criminals are becoming more sophisticated, using the names of multinational corporations like Amazon to recruit unsuspecting young people, often children, for illegal activities through various advertisements.
“Many school children are involved in money laundering. Unfortunately, many of these individuals don’t realize they are involved in crime until it’s too late, and we have to arrest them and work within the framework of Sri Lankan law.” The CID is now working to strengthen Sri Lanka’s legal framework for combating cybercrime, with plans to align it with international efforts from Interpol, Europol, and the Council of Europe. Despite this, significant challenges remain, including limited technical resources, lack of cooperation from major tech companies like Facebook and Google, and insufficient funds for advanced equipment.
Chinese Police supervisor Feng, DIG-CID Premaratna, and officials in discussions.
DIG Premaratne expressed gratitude to the Chinese Embassy for their swift response and emphasised the importance of collaboration in addressing these crimes. “This partnership is important in tackling the increasing threat of cybercrime in Sri Lanka and the region. The language barrier, lack of software, and limited technical assistance are obstacles that we hope will be mitigated through this collaboration with the Chinese team,” he added.
Sri Lanka has been a member of Interpol since 1950, and the CID’s International Cooperation is the unit coordinating assistance for investigations.
The support of China’s law enforcement is seen as a crucial step toward reducing cybercrime and improving the country’s ability to combat complicated transnational criminal networks. Chinese and other foreign criminals see Sri Lanka as a “safe haven” for cybercrime, especially following the introduction of new visa laws that have made it easier for criminals to enter the country.
This joint investigation aims to address these issues and ensure that foreign criminals are properly prosecuted, one of the local Police officials said.
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