‘A transnational syndicate’

Between January 2 and 4, he attempted to withdraw money with cloned cards 84 times. The cards are from nationals of around 40 countries, including the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and Spain.

Hakan Zanburkan, leader of the transnational credit-card cloning syndicate, used to keep two passports to help stay out of trace. Using them, the Turkish national has visited Bangladesh at least six times in the last five years, Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) revealed.

Interestingly, two Indian members of the syndicate had also entered Bangladesh with Hakan, but in a more rudimentary way. Sakib Hasan and Saber Ali would always reach Khagrachari border point through Tripura. The duo crossed the border at least three times last year.

Another Indian, Romel, would maintain the whole network from Mexico.

Hakan's last plan was to take shelter in Pakistan, as the syndicate has members there too. But before that, he was arrested by CTTC unit on January 18.

When he tried to withdraw money from an Eastern Bank Limited ATM, he was thwarted by its anti-skimming protection.

On January 25, Hakan gave a confessional statement before a Dhaka court.

During investigation, CTTC claimed to have got the findings, which officials disclosed with The Daily Star.

Investigators said they have come to know that the syndicate has members in India, Mexico, Bulgaria, Bangladesh and Turkey.

Hakan in his statement said he had learned about cloning ATM cards after meeting Romel in Mexico. He has visited India and Bangladesh several times in the last couple of years. During a visit to India, Hakan met syndicate member Sakib.

Hakan said the other member Saber enters Bangladesh by crossing the border, and their plan was to withdraw Tk 1 lakh from different ATMs.

However, Hakan failed to withdraw money even after using 40 to 50 cards for around 70 to 80 times, court sources added.

CTTC said it is applying to the court to get Hakan's bank details, while sending requests to the other countries to gather information about the suspects.

"We may seek help through Interpol for getting information and for legal support, once the provided information is verified," Tohidul Islam, additional deputy commissioner of CTTC, told The Daily Star.