Police said they carried out the raid on information received by Senior DIG Central Province Lalith Pathinayake and arrested the organised group of 12 Indian nationals suspected to be responsible for cyber crimes.

During the raid, the police seized 22 desktop computers, four laptops, more than 50 sophisticated cellular phones of advanced technology, eleven ATM cards and a host of other equipment.

Investigations revealed that they had rented the house for Rs.300,000 per month to carry out their secret activities behind closed doors. They are suspected of running an international-level betting business through the internet, among other computer crimes and they are being investigated into.

It was revealed that they had employed two Indian cooks to prepare their meals and that none of the group members were permitted to go out during day time.

The suspects were handed over to the Cyber Crimes Investigation Division of the CID for further action.

By Shane Seneviratne