Six Chinese nationals among nine arrested in online gambling ring bust

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Police have arrested nine individuals, including six Chinese nationals, in the capital’s Uttara and Turag areas in connection with online gambling and money laundering operations. The Detective Branch (DB) of police conducted raids on several apartments, seizing over 100 SIM cards, laptops, smartphones, and GSM gateways.

The arrests were made on Wednesday, with authorities announcing the details on Thursday at the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Media Center. The apprehended individuals have been identified as M. A. G. (33), Zhang Jiahao (22), Liu Jinji (32), Wang Shibo (24), Chang Tiantian (29), James Zhu (43), Md. Kawser Hossain (24), Md. Abdul Karim (28), and Rokon Uddin (40).

According to DMP Additional Commissioner (DB) Mohammad Shofiqul Islam, regular cyber monitoring revealed advertisements for online gambling and deposit bonuses on platforms including Facebook, YouTube, Telegram groups, and various fake websites. The operation also detected illegal transactions occurring through multiple mobile banking services. These websites were reportedly luring the public with promises of doubling or tripling money in a short period, trapping them in a cycle of fraud.

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Kawser, Karim, and Rokon were apprehended during an operation in Sector 13 of Uttara West Police Station. In a separate raid the same morning in Rupayan Housing Estate area under Turag Police Station, the six Chinese nationals were arrested. Seized from their possession were three GSM, GPRS SIM module machines with 64 ports (VoIP GSM gateway machines), one 8-port GSM module machine, and one 256-port GSM module machine. Additionally, approximately 280 SIM cards from various operators, multiple laptops, 20 smartphones, nearly 605,000 Bangladeshi Taka in cash, passports and national identification cards of the foreign nationals, and a Toyota microbus were confiscated.

During initial interrogation, the arrested individuals admitted to being part of an organized syndicate involved in online gambling, fraud, illegal e-transactions, and money laundering. Islam stated that the group not only operated their own gambling portals but also channeled millions of dollars abroad, particularly to China. The individuals have been formally arrested and charged under the Cyber Security Act at Ramna Police Station.