Police have detained six Chinese nationals in Cox’s Bazar over alleged links to online fraud, recovering nearly 2,000 iPhones and dozens of laptops from a hotel.

The six were apprehended from Hotel Sea Palace in the beach town on Thursday night, Additional Superintendent of Police Ohidur Rahman said.

Police recovered 1,938 iPhones and around 30 to 40 laptops, along with communication equipment that officers said resembled devices used by foreign law-enforcing agencies.

Ohidur said a case had been filed against the detainees over allegations related to online fraud and cybercrime.

Police said the raid was carried out on the basis of intel from Dhaka following a complaint filed with Ramu Police Station.

However, Ohidur could not provide the case number, identify the suspects or give details of the specific allegations.

He referred bdnews24.com to Ramu Police Station for further information.

Ramu Police Station chief (OC) Muhammad Anwarul Hossain did not respond to repeated phone calls.

Inspector (Investigation) Arup Kumar Chowdhury also referred queries to the OC.

Wider Operation

A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said investigators suspect more foreign nationals could be involved in similar activities in Cox’s Bazar.

The officer alleged that around 200 to 300 Chinese and Taiwanese nationals had been staying at two hotels on Marine Drive and were suspected of involvement in online fraud.

Police operations to detain them were continuing, the officer said.

However, no detailed information was provided to substantiate the claim about the number of foreign nationals allegedly involved or the nature of the suspected activities.

Hotel Sea Palace authorities said a group of Chinese nationals had checked into the hotel on Aug 26.

Several members of the group were detained during Thursday night’s raid.

The hotel declined to comment on why they had travelled to Cox’s Bazar or what they had been doing during their stay.