Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested eight members of an online fraud network, including five Chinese nationals, during separate raids in the capital’s Bashundhara and Uttara areas.
The detectives recovered more than 51,000 SIM cards of different operators, 51 mobile phones, and 21 VoIP gateway devices allegedly used for scam operations.
The five Chinese citizens are Chen Ling Feng, Zeng Cong, Zeng Changqiang, Wen Xian Qiu, and Huang Zheng Xiang. The three Bangladeshi nationals are Md Zakaria, 26, Niyaz Masum, 20, and Kamrul Hasan alias Hasan Joy, 38.
According to the DB, the ring was involved in Telegram-based job fraud, investment scams, and false advertisements offering essential goods at cheap rates to deceive customers.
Officials from DB Cyber and Special Crime (North) said the operation was launched after multiple complaints of online scams and Telegram frauds were received at the DMP Cyber Support Center and DB units.
Acting on the complaints, the detectives first raided Bashundhara Residential Area under Vatara Police Station on 7 January and arrested Niyaz and Kamrul.
During the raid, DB seized 14 VoIP gateway devices, 51,067 SIM cards, four mobile phones, two CPUs, and one laptop believed to have been used in fraudulent activities.
During further investigation, law enforcers learned that more foreign-led fraud groups were operating in the capital. A follow-up raid was conducted on Monday (12 January) in Sector 9 of Uttara West, where six more suspects, including five Chinese citizens, were detained.
Seven illegal VoIP gateway devices, 47 mobile phones, 184 SIM cards, and five laptops were recovered from the spot.
DB officials said the fraudsters would entice victims through Telegram and other social media platforms by promising lucrative jobs, high-profit investments, or cheap delivery of daily essentials, and then withdraw money through mobile financial services and online gateways.
Officials confirmed that Niyaz and Kamrul have already been produced before a court, while legal proceedings against the rest of the arrestees are underway.
