Sri Lankan customs officers arrested nine Chinese nationals at Bandaranaike International Airport (the country's main international gateway, near Colombo) on Thursday after discovering 383 mobile phones, 101 tablets, six Wi-Fi routers, and GPS trackers strapped to their bodies — equipment valued at approximately US$78,000 and believed intended for cyberscam operations. The arrests come just two weeks after police detained 152 foreign nationals, mostly Chinese, for allegedly running an online scam operation from a hotel in northwestern Sri Lanka. The Chinese embassy in Colombo has acknowledged the trend, attributing the influx of fraud gangs to Sri Lanka's strong telecommunications infrastructure and relatively lenient visa policies, and said it is cooperating with local authorities to curb such activity.