Published on 04:13 PM, January 14, 2020

Illegal Casino Business: Enamul, Rupon on 4-day remand

Enamul Haque Enu and his brother Rupon Bhuiyan, who allegedly ran a casino illegally, were placed on four-day remand each by a Dhaka court today in two separate Money Laundering cases.

Enamul Haque, vice-president of Gendaria Awami League, was remanded in a case filed with Gendaria Police Station while Rupon Bhuiyan, joint general secretary of the same AL unit, was placed on remand in another Money Laundering case filed with Sutrapur Police Station.

The two brothers were arrested in Dhaka’s Keraniganj yesterday along with one of their accomplices Sheikh Sunny Mostofa.

Sheikh Sunny, who was also arrested yesterday on charge of giving shelter the two brothers at his house in South Keraniganj, was put on three-day remand filed with Genderia Police Station.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Rajesh Chowdhury passed the order after Criminal Investigation Department (CID) inspector Mehedi Maksud, also investigation officer of the cases, produced the trio before the court with 10-day remand prayer for each.

They were arrested from a rented flat where they had been living after failing to flee the country with forged passports.

Enamul and Rupon went into hiding after law enforcers launched a crackdown on illegal casinos, bars, spas and graft last year.

Wanderers Club, of which Enamul was the director, was raided by Rapid Action Battalion on September 18, the first day of the crackdown.

The two brothers have 22 houses and plots in the capital, five cars, and Tk 19.11 crore in 91 bank accounts frozen by the Bangladesh Bank, Imtiaz Ahmed, deputy inspector general (organised crime) of CID said yesterday.

Law enforcers recovered Tk 40 lakh in cash and 12 mobile phones from their possession yesterday.

During the drive against casinos, the brothers fled to Cox’s Bazar. They planned to flee to Malaysia through Myanmar, but they failed due to the vigilance of law enforcers, according to CID officials.

They later returned to Dhaka and took shelter at a rented flat of one of their employees. They were caught from there yesterday.

The brothers were trying to forge passports to flee to Nepal through India, the official added.

To operate the casinos, Enamul and Rupon hired several Nepalese nationals.