CID Uncovers Tk11cr Fraud: Over 365,000 NID records sold in month

Staff Reporter :

Bangladesh’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has exposed a major fraud involving the illegal sale of National Identity (NID) data, arresting two Election Commission (EC) employees accused of trafficking sensitive citizen information for profit worth more than Tk 100 million in a single month.

The arrests were carried out at the Gazaria Upazila Election Office, CID Cyber Police Centre (CPC) Deputy Inspector General Md Abul Bashar Talukder said during a press briefing on Thursday.

Those detained are Md Habibullah, 41, an assistant-cum-computer operator, and Md Alamin, 39, an outsourced data entry operator at the EC.

CID officials said preliminary findings revealed that Alamin had unauthorized access to confidential EC login details, including a secret user ID and password used for NID verification. He allegedly shared these credentials with Habibullah in exchange for weekly payments ranging from Tk 4,000 to Tk 5,000.

Using the login access, Habibullah is accused of selling citizens’ NID information for Tk 200-300 per record. Investigators estimate that more than 365,000 records were illegally sold within 30 days, generating close to Tk 110 million in illicit earnings.

DIG Abul Bashar stated that Habibullah used the proceeds to support an extravagant lifestyle, including purchasing a personal apartment in Dhaka.

During initial questioning, the accused reportedly admitted to accessing the EC server through OTP-based authentication and distributing NID data through various social media platforms. CID officers seized two mobile phones during the operation, and a case has been filed at Paltan Model Police Station.

The CID warned that further arrests may follow, stating that anyone linked to the data trafficking network will face legal action.