Published : 14 Sep 2026, 04:07 AM
Updated : 16 Sep 2026, 11:50 AM
Police have arrested 63 foreign nationals in Chattogram while they were setting up a global online “fraud” operation, with Bangladesh chosen as a “convenient base”.
The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit raided a seven-storey building in Krishnachura Residential Area under Khulshi Thana on Thursday, arresting 36 Laotians, 21 Pakistanis, five Chinese nationals, and one each from Nepal and Vietnam, including 20 women.
A case has been filed under the Cyber Security Act, with the CTTC investigating the case.
Police said the group rented the building about 1.5-month ago through a man named Mohsin, who has close ties with Chinese nationals.
CTTC Deputy Commissioner Shamim Hossain told bdnews24.com, “We have confirmed that Mohsin rented the building through another man named Rakib. However, no copy of the rental agreement was submitted to the police station.”
Police also said they had not been informed about the foreign nationals living there. Mohsin, identified with a single name, was arrested on Friday in a separate narcotics case.
“We hope interrogating him will reveal a great deal of information, including details regarding the passports of the arrested foreigners,” Shamim said.
Investigators said the group was preparing to run websites posing as online marketing operations, using methods including “honey traps”.
They allegedly planned to take orders through online shopping sites and either supply substandard products or embezzle customers’ money. Devices seized from the building were also allegedly set up to hack websites and applications.
Police said most of the detainees could not speak English and communicated in Hindi and Urdu, with help from some Pakistani and Nepali associates.
Several of them told investigators they had been recruited through agents with promises of monthly salaries of $300 to $400 and arrived in small groups.
At least 50 of the detainees had travelled to Cambodia multiple times, raising suspicions that they had previously been involved in similar operations there.
Investigators are now looking for those who brought them to Bangladesh.
Chattogram Metropolitan Police Additional Commissioner Faisal Ahmed said the group had local and foreign accomplices in different parts of Bangladesh.
Investigators said their scam operation had not yet fully begun when the ring was caught. The recruits were undergoing training, with more people expected to join.
A few Chinese nationals allegedly orchestrated the operation, planning to use goods imported from China.
Shamim said forensic analysis of the seized devices could reveal more about the operation.
“Essentially, this group planned to carry out fraud by operating using Bangladeshi IP addresses. Since the online world knows no borders, had they succeeded in doing this from within the country, it would have tarnished Bangladesh's reputation and led to different problems.”
