Sri Lanka Police are searching for six people over the murder of a Chinese national suspected of links to computer-based scam operations, Police Spokesman Frederick Wootler said on Thursday.
Three of the six are believed to still be in Sri Lanka and have been placed under a travel ban, Wootler told Reuters. The remaining three left the country and are being traced with the assistance of Interpol.
Two Chinese nationals connected to the killing have already been arrested and are due to be produced in court on August 4, he said. The spokesman declined to confirm the victim’s identity. Investigators had earlier identified the man as Hao Song, saying he entered Sri Lanka from Cambodia in April on a passport issued by Suriname.
Police believe the victim was abducted in Colombo. His body was recovered about a week ago near Eheliyagoda, roughly 60 kilometres from the capital. He was taken from the Colombo Port City area in the early hours of July 23 after a confrontation between two groups of Chinese nationals.
Two police sources, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the victim is suspected to have been part of a larger group of Chinese nationals tied to computer-related fraud.
Arrests of foreign nationals nearly double
The case has unfolded alongside a broader crackdown on scam operations run out of rented accommodation in Sri Lanka. Police data show roughly 700 foreign nationals have been arrested so far this year — nearly twice the 2025 figure — in raids on hotels, rented houses and apartments across the country. Those detained include Indian, Chinese, Nepali and Vietnamese nationals.
The raids recovered hundreds of mobile phones, laptops and desktop computers, which police say points to links with cybercrime networks. Most of those arrested were produced in court and then deported for overstaying their visas or for working while on tourist visas.
The Chinese foreign ministry and the Chinese embassy in Colombo did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
The government said last week it was on alert over a rise in crimes involving foreign nationals. Investigations into the killing are continuing.
This report is based on a Reuters wire filed from Colombo on July 30. Sri Lankan newsrooms had not published their own accounts of these developments at the time of writing.
