RAB arrests alleged online betting administrator in Dhaka, traces mobile-wallet funds

A raid on a property in Dhaka’s Rajarbagh area has led investigators to an alleged online betting operation that, authorities say, used social media accounts and mobile financial services to recruit customers and move gambling-related funds.

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The Rapid Action Battalion arrested 43-year-old Md Ahidur Rahman on Tuesday, 25 August, at 20 Outer Circular Road, within Shahjahanpur Police Station. RAB-3 carried out the operation.

Investigators are now looking for another 10 to 12 people believed to have been connected to the same network. Their identities have not been disclosed, and the allegations against them have yet to be tested in court.

Phones, cash and mobile-wallet funds seized

The material seized during the raid offers some indication of how RAB believes the operation functioned. Officers recovered two smartphones and two SIM cards, along with Tk55,500 in cash and a motorcycle.

The agency also reported finding access through the seized devices to Tk81,214 held in a bKash account and Tk50,041 in a Nagad account.

Those mobile wallets have become part of the investigation into how money allegedly moved between betting customers and people operating as agents.

Social media allegedly used to recruit gamblers

RAB’s account is based in part on what it described as a preliminary interrogation of Ahidur. The agency alleges that he worked as both an administrator and an agent for several international online gambling and betting platforms, helping promote services prohibited in Bangladesh.

The alleged recruitment operation relied on Facebook and WhatsApp accounts created under false identities. RAB believes those accounts were used to find prospective customers and direct them toward betting sites.

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Investigators also examined WhatsApp and Messenger conversations found on the devices. RAB says those records contained material connected to gambling promotions as well as transactions involving people inside Bangladesh and overseas.

Betting credits and mobile payments

The suspected operation appears to have extended beyond simply advertising betting websites. Members of the network allegedly supplied customers with credits used on gambling platforms and collected or transferred money through mobile financial services.

That combination of online promotion, betting credits and mobile-wallet transactions forms a central part of the case outlined by RAB.

Investigators pursuing other suspected members

Ahidur allegedly provided investigators with information suggesting that another 10 to 12 people were involved. RAB has not identified those people or detailed their suspected roles, but said searches were continuing based on information obtained after the arrest.

For now, the description of the network, the contents of the seized communications and Ahidur’s alleged role all come from the law enforcement agency’s account. No independent evidence establishing those allegations was included in the information released publicly.

A case has been filed against Ahidur under relevant provisions of the Gambling Prevention Act 2026.

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Source: tbsnews.net