Archive · 6 Aug 2026
Colombo emerging as gateway for Chinese mafia in Sri Lanka
Bad people who trick others on the internet are called scammers.
Some scammers work together in big groups, and one of those groups is from China.
These groups usually hide in countries like Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos, but now they are trying to start working in Sri Lanka.
A man named Hao Pan was part of one of these groups.
He came to Sri Lanka hoping to start a scam operation there.
But the Chinese group was angry with him because he would not share his money with them.
Some of them came to Sri Lanka to find him.
They took him from a place called Colombo port city and hurt him until he died.
The police found out about the group because cameras at the airport helped catch two of the bad men.
The police are worried that these scam groups could become a big problem for Sri Lanka.
They have already arrested close to one thousand people who might be part of these scam operations.
Hao Pan, a Chinese national tied to an international cybercrime syndicate, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Sri Lanka's Ehe-Liya-Ghoda town on July 23.
Pan arrived in Sri Lanka six months earlier with a chef, physiotherapist, driver, Vietnamese girlfriend, and pet dog, reportedly escaping Cambodia after refusing to share cybercrime profits with the Chinese mafia.
On July 22, Pan was kidnapped in Colombo port city, taken to a remote location, and assaulted by armed kidnappers seeking millions of dollars allegedly held in his Cambodian bank account.
Two suspects were arrested at Colombo airport after facial recognition systems identified them as they attempted to flee to Singapore via an Air India flight.
Sri Lankan police have arrested nearly a thousand foreign nationals from China, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam after raiding ten cybercrime locations in recent months.
- Who
- Hao Pan, a Chinese national linked to an international cybercrime syndicate, and Chinese organized crime groups expanding into Sri Lanka.
- What
- A Chinese national linked to a cybercrime syndicate was kidnapped and murdered, and Colombo is emerging as a gateway for Chinese mafia operations in Sri Lanka.
- When
- Hao Pan was kidnapped on July 22 and found dead under mysterious circumstances on July 23.
- Where
- Sri Lanka, including Colombo port city, Ehe-Liya-Ghoda town, and Colombo airport.
- Why
- Hao Pan reportedly refused to share cybercrime profits with the Chinese mafia and wanted to set up cybercrime operations in Sri Lanka, prompting syndicate members to hunt him down.
National Security Concerns
Criminal Enterprise Expansion
Nature of the threat
National Security Concerns
Chinese organized crime groups could become a major national security threat if decisive action is not taken immediately, with senior police officials warning the country's top leadership.
Criminal Enterprise Expansion
The syndicate's expansion is primarily a criminal business operation, using shell companies and visa fraud in Colombo port city's special economic zone to establish cybercrime centres.
Response required
National Security Concerns
Sri Lanka needs decisive and immediate action, including requesting Chinese embassy assistance to extradite suspects who fled overseas.
Criminal Enterprise Expansion
Criminals exploit regulatory gaps, registering shell companies and renting buildings and hotels with limited regulatory oversight, requiring systemic fixes to visa and business registration processes.
- Victim
- Hao Pan, Chinese national linked to international cybercrime syndicate
- Incident date
- Kidnapped July 22; found dead July 23
- Location
- Ehe-Liya-Ghoda town; Colombo port city, Sri Lanka
- Kidnapping method
- Abducted from Colombo port city; kidnappers used walkie-talkies to avoid police detection
- Monetary motive
- Millions of dollars allegedly parked in Pan's Cambodian bank account
- Suspects
- Eight Chinese channels linked; two arrested at airport, three escaped abroad, three still believed hiding in Sri Lanka
- Arrests
- Nearly 1,000 foreign nationals arrested after raids on ten cybercrime locations
- Regional scam losses (2025)
- 88 billion U.S. dollars defrauded in the Asia-Pacific region