By Hiran Priyakara Jayasinhe

Puttalam, July 31 (Daily Mirror)- A group of 53 suspects wanted in connection with international monetary rackets were arrested during a raid on a hotel in Norochcholai today by Puttalam Division Crime Investigation Unit.

It included eight Chinese women, a Japanese woman and 44 Chinese men.

They had rented out the hotel to carry on the racket secretly. Investigations revealed that they had arrived to Sri Lanka in groups and rented the entire hotel.

Police had carried out the raid on intelligence received by Puttlam Division SP Udaya Kumara about the suspicious group occupying the hotel. He had deployed a police team comprising intelligence officers to carry out investigations.

On their information the Crime Investigations Unit had obtained a search warrant from Puttlam magistrate and carried out the raid that resulted in the arrest of the suspects.

Police said they seized during the raid 50 computers valued about Rs.60 million, 98 mobile phones, 1550 SIM cards which they had used and more than 2000 unused SIM cards.

A luxury jeep valued about RS. 60 million belonging to them and cash Rs. 11. 65 million were among other property seized. Investigations revealed that thousands of people in several countries including Japan had fallen prey to the racket.

The hotel was sealed and handed over to the Computer Crime Investigations Unit of the CID for further investigations.

.The suspects were to be produced before Puttalam magistrate today.

A police team under .OIC Puttalam Crime Investigation Unit CI Chandarsiri Lal and OIC Norochcholai Police IP Dharmakumar conducted investigations on the instructions of SP Udayakuma , DIG Nalaka Silva and Senior DIG Kithsiri Jayalath.