The Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police has arrested six alleged members of an organised online gambling network and seized 6,600 SIM cards linked to mobile financial service (MFS) accounts following raids in Gazipur and Cumilla.

The arrestees are Ariful Islam Rifat, 23; Arman Hossain Jihad, 23; Masud Hossain, 22; Abdul Rabbi, 23; Koushik Ahmed Shuvo, 23; and Mashiur Rahman Tarek, 20.

Briefing reporters today at the DMP Media Centre on Minto Road, DMP Additional Commissioner (DB) Shafiqul Islam said forensic examination of the seized devices indicated the network handled around Tk 5 crore in daily transactions, which were then converted into cryptocurrency and transferred abroad.

DB investigators first identified the network through cyber monitoring of online gambling websites and mobile applications, tracing financial transactions on those platforms to MFS agent accounts, he added.

Analysis of those accounts uncovered what officials described as an organised operation that facilitated payments for the platforms and maintained records of thousands of MFS accounts in large registers.

Acting on intelligence, DB members raided a resort in Tongi and arrested three suspects.

Information obtained during their initial interrogation led a second team, working with the Cumilla district DB, to raid a hotel in Cumilla, where three more suspects were arrested.

Besides the 6,600 SIM cards, detectives seized 67 additional SIM cards, more than 70 mobile phones, a laptop and a microbus.

Police identified Ariful Islam Rifat as the alleged coordinator of the network, Shafiqul said.

According to the DB, he has four previous cases filed against him and frequently changed locations to evade law enforcement. At the time of his arrest, he had rented three rooms at the resort and regularly moved between upscale hotels.

Shafiqul said that several payment companies operating behind Bangladesh-focused gambling websites and applications are controlled by Chinese nationals, who, he said, collected MFS and bank accounts from Bangladeshis to facilitate local transactions before routing the money abroad as cryptocurrency.

Responding to a question, the DB chief said preliminary findings pointed to a Chinese national identified as "Natan" as the alleged mastermind behind the network, adding that efforts were under way to arrest him.

He also said preliminary findings suggested online gambling platforms operating in Bangladesh process between Tk 700 crore and Tk 1,000 crore in transactions daily.

He said the matter remained under investigation and that law enforcement agencies would continue operations against those involved.