Mugging gang posing as detectives arrested
Police Bureau of Investigation on Monday arrested eight members of a mugging gang who used to pose as detectives to rob individuals.
Police arrested them with four motorcycles, three walkie-talkies, a pair of handcuffs and two toy pistols after a raid in the city's Sutrapur area, said PBI chief Deputy Inspector General Banaj Kumar Majumder at a press briefing yesterday.
The arrestees are: AKM Rana, 38; Delwar Hossain, 50; Sohag Khandaker, 31; Jabed Ahamed, 37; Bulbul Ahmed, 32; Nazmul Hossain, 24; Asaduzzaman, 35; and Harun alias Hira, 32.
Rana is apparently from an affluent family but resorted to a life in crime – motivated by glorified depiction of money earned through illicit means, Banaj said, quoting Rana's primary confession.
PBI tracked down the gang while investigating a case filed on October 25 with Tejgaon Industrial Police Station by a victim of the gang, Mustafizur Rahman.
Talking to The Daily Star, Mustafizur, an expat living in Singapore, said he along with a friend was travelling in a bus with Tk 13 lakh, towards Khilkhet from Paltan area on October 25. Four persons on two motorcycles intercepted the bus in Norda area.
“Calling us 'yaba traders', they dragged us down from the bus, identifying themselves as detectives. One identified as assistant commissioner and even scolded two policemen in uniform who were also in the bus, blaming them for negligence in their duties,” he said.
The motorcyclist released Mustafizur's friend after a while but took him to Tejgaon industrial area after taking different routes and tried to snatch the Tk 13 lakh he was carrying in a bag.
The victim said locals rushed and captured one of them as he shouted for help. The others fled the scene.
Traders in Old Dhaka are main targets of the gang. The gang used to share 40 percent of the looted money with local informants – mostly workers and employees of different shops near the possible targets, PBI officials said.
At least seven other similar gangs are active in Dhaka, they said.
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