Police have arrested six people, including the younger brother of Wari’s “top-listed criminal” Sajol alias Auto Sajol, and recovered four foreign-made pistols, three magazines and 12 rounds of ammunition from the capital’s Swamibagh area.
The arrestees are Md Sajib, 28, brother of Sajol, Md Himu, 32, Md Tushar, 25, Md Joy, 25, Md Tutul, 33, and Md Imran, 34.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Joint Commissioner (Crime) Md Faruk Hossain disclosed the information at a press briefing at the DMP Media Centre on Monday.
He said police learned on Sunday that a consignment of illegal drugs was being brought to Dhaka from Chattogram in a private car. Acting on the information, a team of Jatrabari Police Station set up a checkpost in front of Mukti Filling Station near the Matuail U-turn.
Around 4:30pm, police stopped a white private car and searched it. Five people inside the vehicle were detained, but no drugs were found at that time.
During interrogation, they told police that drugs were kept in a flat at Koratitola of in the Swamibagh.
Police later raided the flat around 9:30pm and, based on information provided by Sajib and Himu, recovered four foreign-made pistols, three magazines and 12 rounds of ammunition from a plastic bag hidden under a bed. Another arrest was made at that time.
The private car and six smartphones were also seized.
Link to previous arms recovery
According to preliminary police information, Sajib is the younger brother of Sajol, as a top-listed criminal and arms and drug dealer in the Wari area.
Police said on March 2, unidentified criminals shot and injured an inspector of the Department of Narcotics Control during a special anti-drug operation before fleeing the scene. A case was filed with Wari Police Station over the incident.
Three people were arrested during the investigation, and police recovered a 9mm pistol, a .32-bore revolver, a 7.65mm pistol and 23 rounds of ammunition from them.
Police said the arrested suspects, in their confessional statements recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, told investigators that Sajol had supplied the weapons used in the incident.
Later, on June 18, police arrested Sajol from the Sayedabad area based on a tip-off.
Based on information obtained from him, police raided his rented house in Swamibagh and recovered two Taurus-brand pistols, four magazines, 77 rounds of ammunition, 59 grams of heroin, materials used to make heroin, Tk 22,960 in drug sale proceeds and four mobile phones.
Legal proceedings against the six arrested people are underway, police said.