The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Bangladesh Police has arrested five members of an organised syndicate operating national and international online betting and gambling websites.
A special team from the Cyber Investigation and Operations unit under the CID’s Cyber Police Centre (CPC) conducted raids across various areas in Narsingdi district to arrest the suspects.
According to the press release issued by CID, the operations were conducted from the evening of Tuesday to Wednesday.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Rafiqul Islam, 46, of Sreerampur (Uttar Para) under Raipura Pourashava; Md Sohel, 37, of Noyadia (Moulvi Bari) under Monohardi Police Station; Md Shofiqul Islam, 27, of Rasulpur under Monohardi Police Station; Md Rubel Mollya, 33, of Uttar Noyadia under Monohardi Police Station; and Ayub Hossain Ripon, 48, of 69/2 Noyadorakandia, Narsingdi Sadar Upazila. All hails from narsingdi district.
During the operations, Rafiqul Islam was arrested from the Railgate College Market area under Raipura Police Station. Md Sohel was detained from the Moulvi Bari area in Noyadia village, while Md Shofiqul Islam and Md Rubel Mollya were apprehended in front of Monohardi Police Station in the Raju Tower area.
Ayub Hossain Ripon was arrested from the Noyadorakandia area under Monohardi Police Station. Officers seized nine mobile phones, 20 SIM cards, and bank chequebooks used in the criminal operations.
According to the case details, the Cyber Police Centre discovered the syndicate’s activities during routine cyber monitoring and preliminary inquiry. The group had been running various online betting and gambling platforms targeting international cricket, football, and other sporting events.
The syndicate actively promoted these illicit platforms through advertisements on various social media networks and online portals.
To participate in gambling, users were required to top up or deposit funds into their betting accounts. The websites directed users to deposit money using Bangladeshi Mobile Financial Services (MFS) including bKash, Nagad, Rocket, and Upay, as well as bank accounts and cryptocurrency.
Once deposited, equivalent virtual “e-money” or “bot money” was credited to the user’s betting account for placing wagers.
The primary probe revealed that the syndicate frequently changed the MFS agent numbers and bank accounts used for deposits and withdrawals to evade law enforcement. They recruited local agents across different regions of Bangladesh to collect these MFS numbers and bank accounts. These details were then shared with the website administrators via Telegram and other communication channels to facilitate transactions nationwide.
The agents gathered the illegally transacted funds, deducted their commissions, and transferred the remainder through various bank accounts. The money was then converted into cryptocurrency and smuggled out of Bangladesh.
A case was filed by the CID as the plaintiff at Paltan Model Police Station under the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) under Sections 20(2), 21(2), 24(2), and 27(2) of the Cyber Security Act 2026.
Primary interrogations revealed that the arrested individuals confessed to their involvement with the online betting and gambling syndicate. The CID’s Cyber Investigation and Operations Unit is conducting a thorough forensic and technical analysis of the seized mobile phones, SIM cards, bank accounts, and chequebooks to trace financial transaction paths, locate other accomplice networks, and track the final destination of the laundered funds.
Investigators are also probing potential foreign links and checking if the illicit funds have been laundered abroad. Efforts remain underway to identify the main operators of the betting sites, their local and foreign agents, and the actual owners of the bank and MFS accounts used in these transactions.
Despite the central bank issuing Bangladesh Bank PSD Circular No. 07 on 28 May 2025 to curb online gambling, the syndicate has continued its illicit operations using various deceptive tactics.
The CID has urged the public to refrain from participating in online betting and gambling, warning them not to engage in transactions linked to these platforms. Citizens have also been requested to report any information regarding such illegal operations to law enforcement agencies.
