Police arrested six Chinese nationals from a hotel in Cox’s Bazar last night over their alleged involvement in online gambling and fraud, recovering 1,938 iPhones and dozens of laptops.

They were detained during a raid at Hotel Sea Palace in Cox’s Bazar town, Additional Superintendent of Police Md Ahidur Rahman said.

He said the raid was conducted based on information provided by Dhaka Metropolitan Police following a complaint filed with Ramu Police Station.

A case has been filed against the detainees over allegations of online fraud and cybercrime, the police officer said. However, he could not immediately provide the case number, the identities of the accused or further details of the allegations.

Police recovered iPhones, laptops and other communication equipment from their possession. Some of the devices appeared similar to equipment used by foreign law enforcement agencies, Ahidur said.

Hotel Sea Palace authorities said a group of Chinese nationals had checked into the hotel on August 26 and several of them were detained during last night’s raid.

A police source, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed that around 200 to 300 Chinese nationals, along with some Taiwanese nationals, had rented two hotels along Marine Drive and were allegedly involved in online gambling and fraud.

Police, however, have not independently confirmed the claim or provided details about the alleged activities of such a large group of foreign nationals.

The source said operations to detain others allegedly involved were ongoing.

Additional SP Ahidur asked journalists to contact Ramu Police Station for details about the detainees and the case.

Several calls to Ramu Police Station OC Muhammad Anwarul Hossain went unanswered. Inspector (Investigation) Arup Kumar Chowdhury also referred queries to the OC.