A group of African fraudsters colluding with a local crime ring is cheating Bangladeshis through SMS or emails, luring them out with promises of winning lottery or prizes from abroad or even by promising jobs.
Detective Branch (DB) high officials of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) said the same group of African nationals are continuing the crime after being released following detention by local law enforcers. The crime racket consists nationals from Nigeria, Cameroon and Congo among other African states.
According to Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), the elite force since its inception back in 2004 until May this year detained 160 foreigners. Most of them were held for being linked to fraud, drug peddling, counterfeiting currency and other crimes.
Currently 562 foreigners are in prisons across the country according to the Directorate of Prisons. Of them, 414 are being tried and 53 have already been convicted. However, 95 of the foreigners, whose jail terms finished, are still awaiting their release, which is being delayed owing to legal complications. Among the prisoners, 345 are Myanmarese nationals, 147 Indians and 38 Pakistanis and the rest are Africans.
DMP DB Assistant Commissioner Maharram Ali said: “The African fraudsters come to Bangladesh in guise of being support staff or contractual players in different clubs. Later, they engage themselves in many types of criminal acts. Many others from abroad are also assisting them here in Bangladesh. Locals also work for them for money.”
Intelligence officials say the lack of monitoring on foreign citizens is the cause of a rise in their involvement in crimes. The officials added the accused foreigners walk free from jail securing bail after being arrested. After that they are hardly traced, halting their trial proceedings.
DMP Counter Terrorism and Transitional Crime (CTTC) unit’s chief Manirul Islam said: “ The African frauds trap locals. They are even cheating local women and girls by introducing themselves as citizens of developed countries. In some case, they are blackmailing the women and girls with the sensitive photos of the latter.”
He urged locals not to receive any gift or agree to any offer by any unknown person. He also suggested contacting the police in such cases.How the fraudsters fool othersBangladeshis are losing money after falling into the traps of the fraudsters. A female banker fell prey to such an incident in September last year. Nasir Uddin, an associate of the African ring, contacted her over social media. He introduced himself as a doctor working in Lebanon and offered to send money and equipment needed to establish a hospital to her bank account.
A few days later, the banker was contacted using the name of a C&F agent called Shaon Enterprise. She was then told that a parcel had been sent to her from abroad and it would need money to receive it. The crime ring linked to the incident made her pay Tk21.70 lakh in phases.
Police arrested five frauds including two Nigerians from parts of the capital on September 7 last year. RAB detained seven foreigners among eight people from Dhaka’s Ashkona and Mirpur areas on December 5 and 6 the same year.
The fraudsters sent an SMS to a woman in Jhalakathi, which reads: “Dear customer, Congratulations. Your Mobile number won Five Lakh Pound and 51 Inch LED TV from Samsung Lottery. To claim send your name, sex, age, mobile number and address to…..”
After receiving the text message, she decided to not inform anyone as she wanted to surprise everyone with the money and the TV. The sender, as mentioned in the SMS, was one William, who resides in London.
She was asked to receive the parcel from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka. She was also told to deposit Tk1.6 lakh as customs duty to get it released from the airport. She complied and deposited the money in two bank accounts. But, when she went to the airport, there was no parcel. Since then, William remained unreachable over phone.
The DB arrested eight people including three Nigerian nationals for cheating locals with fake lotteries in Mohammadpur and Baridhara areas of the city on September 10, 2016.
The kingpin, David, of the crime ring carries out his activities from Nigeria. The fraudsters mostly uses mobile apps such as WhatsApp, Viber and i Tel Dialer Plus etc to contact their prey.
Friday, June 05, 2026
