What Chinese, Taiwanese were doing with 1,938 iPhones in Cox’s Bazar
Rows of desks had been set up in the hall of a resort. They held 50 monitors, 44 CPUs and 1,938 iPhones. There were also various electronic devices, including laptops, printers, keyboards, mice and connection boards. Six soundproof rooms had also been set up in another part of the resort.
Police recently discovered this equipment at Marina Beach Villa Resort in Himchhari, Cox’s Bazar. According to police, a computer lab had been set up behind the facade of the resort, which was used to accommodate tourists. Online financial fraud (scams) may have been operated from there.
However, no law enforcement agency official has been able to confirm what the 1,938 iPhones were used for, which platforms they were used on or who was involved. Police said the information would be known after forensic tests of the seized evidence.
Earlier, on Thursday night, police arrested five Chinese nationals and one Taiwanese national in connection with the incident. A court sent them to jail on Friday afternoon. They were shown arrested in a case filed under the Cyber Security Act with Ramu Police Station. Four more people have been named in the case, but they are absconding. Besides, around 300 Chinese and Taiwanese nationals have been accused as unnamed suspects.
Taking control by renting resorts
Police said the arrested individuals entered Bangladesh at different times from 1 March this year. However, they could not provide satisfactory information about the purpose of their stay and activities in Bangladesh.
According to the police complaint, apart from Marina Beach Villa Resort, 250 to 300 Chinese and Taiwanese nationals were staying at Dream Holiday Resort, Orchid-Blue Resort and a residential building named Elias Brothers in the Inani area of Ukhia.
Chinese national Zhan Yuan Fan rented four establishments from April this year using the name 'Babar Ali'. Police said that after renting the resorts, they were not used solely for accommodation. The previous management systems were changed, and the establishments were rearranged according to their needs. They also took control of a large part of the management, including the recruitment of security personnel and other staff.
Abu Bakkar Siddique, general manager of Marina Beach Villa Resort, said, “From their names and identities to renting the resort, the foreigners used fake identities in everything. We failed to detect it.”
How they were arrested
The Chinese and Taiwanese nationals conducted their daytime activities at the computer lab of Marina Beach Villa Resort. They would then move from there to Dream Holiday Resort, Orchid-Blue Resort and the residential building Elias Brothers.
Suspecting their movements, police and intelligence agency members raided Marina Beach Villa Resort on 25 August. However, sensing the raid, they fled the scene. The iPhones, computers and other equipment were seized that day.
According to the seizure list, the equipment included 1,938 iPhones, 50 monitors, 44 CPUs, 30 keyboards, two laptops, two printers, 40 mice, one IPS and 24 connection boards. In addition, 15 notebooks, one diary, four Grameenphone SIM cards and one Robi SIM card were found. The seized items were later placed in the custody of the resort's general manager, Abu Bakkar Siddique.
On 26 August, a three-member delegation from the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka visited the resort. Police, members of the delegation verbally expressed the opinion that the Chinese and Taiwanese nationals concerned might be involved in fraud and online-based crimes.
Two days later, on 28 August, a nine-member team from the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit visited the scene. The team members subsequently informed police that “the individuals concerned might be involved in organised online financial fraud, including artificial market analysis, false inducements, depositing money on cloned or fake trading platforms and misappropriation of funds.”
Questions over so many iPhones together
Police are pursuing the investigation by focusing on why 1,938 iPhones were kept together at the resort.
Mintu Dutta, inspector of Ramu Police Station and complainant in the case filed against the Chinese and Taiwanese nationals, told Prothom Alo that the equipment, including the iPhones, was believed to have been used in information technology-based fraudulent activities. However, what the phones were used for and on which types of platforms would be known after forensic examinations.
Abu Morshed Chowdhury, president of Cox's Bazar Civil Society, said the key question now was whether these 1,938 iPhones were part of an online fraud network. The matter must be uncovered quickly. In addition, investigations must determine what activities were conducted in the computer lab and whether there were links to any international online fraud syndicate.