Dhaka: The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested five people for their alleged involvement in an organised racket operating online betting and gambling websites in Narsingdi. A special team of the Cyber Investigation and Operations Unit of CID’s Cyber Police Centre conducted raids in different parts of Narsingdi from Tuesday evening to Wednesday and arrested them, said a CID press release on Thursday.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the arrestees are Rafiqul Islam, 46; Md Sohel, 37; Md Shafiqul Islam, 27; Md Rubel Mollaya, 33; and Ayub Hossain Ripon, 48. All are residents of Narsingdi. Rafiqul was arrested from the Railgate College Market area under Raipura Police Station, Sohel from the Moulvi Bari area of Noaadia village under Monohardi Police Station, and Shafiqul and Rubel from the Raju Tower area in front of Monohardi Police Station. Ayub was arrested from the Noyadarakandia area under Monohardi Police Station. CID reported that nine mobile phones, 20 SIM cards, cheque books of different banks, and other important evidence were seized from their possession.
The case statement revealed that CID’s Cyber Police Centre detected during cyber monitoring that an organised group, with members operating both inside and outside Bangladesh, had been running online betting and gambling websites under different names for a long time. The websites reportedly facilitated betting on international cricket, football, and other sporting events in exchange for money, and the group promoted and advertised these platforms through social media and other online channels.
Investigations found that users of the betting sites were required to make top-ups or deposits via mobile financial services such as bKash, Nagad, Rocket, and Upay, as well as bank accounts and cryptocurrency, to participate in online gambling. After deposits were made, equivalent amounts of e-money or ‘bot money’ were credited to users’ betting accounts for use in gambling. CID stated that the group used MFS agent numbers and bank accounts to facilitate deposits and withdrawals, frequently changing these details.
The group allegedly recruited agents across the country to collect MFS numbers and bank account details, which were then supplied to betting website operators through platforms like Telegram. Preliminary investigation indicated that money collected through illegal electronic transactions was pooled by agents, who retained commissions before transferring the remaining funds through bank accounts and converting them into cryptocurrency for possible transfer abroad. CID filed a case with Paltan Model Police Station under Sections 20(2), 21(2), 24(2), and 27(2) of the Cyber Security Act 2026.