Bangladesh detains 63 foreigners in Chattogram online fraud raid

Dhaka,UPDATED: Sep 11, 2026 16:00 IST

Bangladesh police have detained 63 foreigners on charges of involvement in online fraud after a raid in the southeastern port city of Chattogram, officials said on Friday. The detainees were picked up during a predawn operation at an eight-storey building.

Officials said those detained were mostly from Laos, Pakistan and China, and were being questioned while their legal documents for staying in Bangladesh were also being examined. Police said they had also seized a large quantity of electronic equipment and foreign currency from the site.

"Acting on secret information, a joint team of our detectives, counter-terrorism unit and RAB (Rapid Action Battalion) conducted a predawn raid at an eight-storey building in Chattogram and detained them on charges of online scamming," a police spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the detainees included 35 nationals of Laos, 21 Pakistanis, five Chinese, one Nepali and one Vietnamese national, while the identification of the remaining detainees was still underway. Among the 63 arrested individuals, there were 41 men, 21 women and a child.

Khulshi police station chief Mohammad Abdur Rahim said police seized equipment allegedly used for fraudulent activities, along with 131 mobile phones, 56 laptops, US dollars and other foreign currencies. He said data stored on the seized electronic devices were being examined to determine the nature of the activities being conducted from the building.

Port city police spokesman Aminur Rashid said the detainees were being questioned and documents related to their stay in Bangladesh were being scrutinised. The development came more than a week after police in the southeastern beach town of Cox's Bazar detained five Chinese and one Taiwanese national in a similar raid at a luxury hotel.

In that operation, police had seized nearly 2,000 iPhones and dozens of laptops allegedly used to manage hundreds of fake online identities. Officials said that since May, police have arrested dozens of foreigners, including 19 Chinese nationals, in similar raids in Dhaka, Chattogram and Cox's Bazar on charges of involvement in online fraud.

The Chattogram raid is the latest in a series of operations by Bangladesh police against alleged online fraud networks, with investigators now examining the seized devices, questioning the detainees and checking their documents.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends