A 46-year-old woman has been arrested at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) over an alleged online financial scam in which a victim was deceived into transferring more than Rs. 1.45 million after being promised a valuable gift parcel.

According to the Police Media Division, the suspect allegedly used a WhatsApp group to convince the victim that they would receive a valuable gift package and persuaded them to deposit Rs. 1,455,000 into a bank account belonging to her.

Following a complaint lodged over the alleged fraud, the North Western Provincial Unit of the Computer Crime Investigation Division launched an investigation into the incident.

Police subsequently arrested the suspect at the passenger terminal of BIA yesterday (30).

The arrested woman has been identified as a 46-year-old resident of Nugegoda.

The North Western Provincial Unit of the Computer Crime Investigation Division is conducting further investigations.