63 foreigners detained in Ctg over alleged online scamming, 187 devices seized

Police have arrested 63 foreign nationals from an eight-storey building in Chattogram's Khulshi, where a large number of electronic devices were being used to operate software linked to alleged online scams, gambling and other fraudulent activities. 

The arrestees include 35 from Laos, 21 from Pakistan, five from China, one from Nepal and one from Vietnam. Among them are 41 men, 21 women, and one child. None of those arrested had passports or visas, police said.

The Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) of Chattogram Metropolitan Police and Khulshi police conducted the raid at the building on Krishnachura Residential Area on yesterday (10 September), Khulshi Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Abdur Rahim told TBS.

During the raid, police seized 134 mobile phones, one Apple tablet, 57 laptops, one white CPU, one black Samsung monitor, one keyboard, one mouse, one black printer, five pen drives, four SIM cards, three Pakistani national identity cards and one Cambodian employment card.

According to the OC, the foreigners had rented the eight-storey building for one year by paying around Tk1 crore in advance. Electronic devices were found in all rooms of the building, although police have yet to confirm which room was being used to control the operation.

When the suspects noticed the police presence at the beginning of the raid, they allegedly threw at least three laptops and several mobile phones from the rear of the building. 

Police later recovered the devices from a nearby jungle. A specialist team is analysing the seized devices and software to determine the nature of the activities. 

Police said the arrestees did not enter Bangladesh together. They entered the country separately from different countries and gradually gathered at the building after June.

The preliminary investigation indicates that the group was involved in online gambling, online scams, financial fraud, embezzlement, unauthorised electronic transactions and schemes promising high returns on small investments.

Police also found that some of the arrested foreigners had previously stayed in rented houses in different parts of Bangladesh.

A case has been filed with Khulshi Police Station under the Cyber Security Act, with police as the complainant. The 63 foreign nationals were sent to jail through a court today. 

Earlier, on 3 September, police arrested six foreign nationals during a raid on a hotel in Cox's Bazar over alleged involvement in online fraud. Asked whether the Cox's Bazar incident was linked to the incident in Khulshi, police said the matter is being investigated.