Dhaka: Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar has come under the spotlight after police uncovered an alleged international cyber fraud operation operating from a hotel complex, seizing nearly 2,000 iPhones along with dozens of computers and other electronic equipment.
The raid at the Marina Beach Villas Resort in the Marine Drive area resulted in the arrest of five Chinese nationals and one Taiwanese national. They were produced before a court on 4 September and subsequently sent to jail. Police said an estimated 250 to 300 other people allegedly linked to the network — mostly Chinese and Taiwanese nationals — remain at large.
Investigators found that a hall at the resort had reportedly been transformed into a large computer centre. The haul included 1,938 iPhones, 50 monitors, 44 CPUs, 30 keyboards, two laptops, two printers and 24 connection boards.
The scale of the equipment has raised suspicions that the facility may have been used to operate large numbers of online accounts and digital identities simultaneously as part of an organised cybercrime operation.
Police initially suspected online gambling activity. However, the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit has now expanded its investigation to suspected investment fraud and other cybercrimes. Investigators are examining allegations involving fake market analysis, bogus investment offers and cloned trading platforms.
Authorities are also probing a possible ‘exit fraud’ operation, in which victims are persuaded to invest money through a fraudulent platform before the operators disappear after accumulating sufficient funds. Investigators say the alleged method bears similarities to the increasingly widespread ‘pig-butchering’ scams reported across Asia.
Police also recovered two Chinese flags, a Chinese police-rank badge and a tie carrying a police insignia. Investigators suspect such items may have been used in scams targeting Chinese nationals, with fraudsters allegedly posing as police or law-enforcement officials to extract money from victims. That line of inquiry remains under investigation.
The alleged operation may also have extended beyond the raided resort. Police said suspected members of the network had been staying at other properties, including Dream Holiday Resort, Orchid Blue and a building identified as ‘Ilyas Brothers’. Reports indicate that large numbers of Chinese and Taiwanese nationals had been staying at the locations since March.
Authorities are now attempting to establish how many of those individuals were involved in the alleged cybercrime operation.
According to police, the main property was allegedly rented in April by a Chinese national using the name ‘Babor Ali’. Another individual reportedly claimed to represent a company called ‘Jin Shin Construction’, although investigators found no evidence confirming that such a company existed.
Police further alleged that the required passport and visa documentation concerning the foreign nationals had not been submitted to local authorities.
The case has intensified concerns over the expansion of organised cybercrime networks in South-east Asia. In countries such as Myanmar and Cambodia, scam operations have increasingly been linked to human trafficking, money laundering, fraudulent investment schemes and organised crime.
Large-scale scam centres have emerged in the region, with some victims allegedly lured by false promises of employment and subsequently forced to participate in online fraud.
The Cox’s Bazar investigation is now being closely watched as Bangladeshi authorities seek to determine the scale, structure and international connections of the alleged network.
