The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has arrested six people over illegally smuggling weapons from neighbouring countries and selling those with fake licences.
Besides, for a hefty amount of money, the group would offer a package deal, which included firearms, fake licences and employment at private security agencies as guards.
The arrestees include the mastermind of the smuggling-ring Palash Sheikh, 38, and his associates Manowar Hossain, 32, Roshidul Islam, 40, Nazim Molla, 35, Maruf Hossain, 24, and Naimul Islam, 22. They were arrested from different parts of Dhaka on Sunday night.
The illegal guns sold by the group are currently being used by many security guards of several financial institutions, RAB’s Legal and Media Wing Director Commander Khandaker Al Moin told the media at a press briefing in RAB media centre in Dhaka’s Karwan Bazar on Monday.
RAB also seized one foreign pistol, two one-shooter guns, 7 single-barreled guns, two pistol magazines, eight rounds of pistol bullets, two rounds of one-shooter bullets, 67 rounds of single-barreled gun bullets, 40 rounds of 0.22 bore rifle bullets, 11 fake licences and 19 different government officials’ seals from the arrestees’ possession.
According to Commander Moin, this group used to charge Tk 2-3 lakh for the whole package. They used to bring these weapons part by part using various techniques at the cost of Tk 20,000-30,000.
Moin said, “In the preliminary investigation, we come to know that Palash is the mastermind of the ring. After passing SSC in 2004, he came to Dhaka in 2013 in search of livelihood.
“Later, in 2015, he bought an illegal gun with a fake licence and started working as a security guard in a private bank with a high salary. At one point he himself started smuggling and selling arms illegally and formed a gang of 4-5 members,”
For the past five to six years, Palash has been smuggling arms and ammunition from neighbouring countries, supplying illegal arms to security personnel and also selling it to various terrorist groups, added the RAB official.
Moin said among the other arrestees, Naimul passed HSC and came to Dhaka in search of a job in 2020. Later he met Palash through a middleman. Attracted by Palash's lucrative salary offer, he bought a fake licenced weapon for Tk 150,000 and began working as a security guard in a financial institution. He used to send interested job seekers to Palash at various times.
Meanwhile, Nazim and Maruf bought illegal weapons and worked as security guards.
