Members of Coast Guard (CG) detained six Rohingya robbers with 14 foreign arms, 486 rounds of bullets and 20,000 pieces of Yaba pills from the estuary of Naf River and Bay of Bengal on Tuesday. Lieutenant Commandant Md Mohiuddin of the CG Teknaf station, at a press conference, said acting on a tip-off, they came to know that a group of the Rohingya robbers was taking preparations for committing robbery in the estuary of the Naf River and Bay of Bengal. Read more: 4 members of a gang of robbers arrested A team of the CG conducted a drive in the estuary and detained the Rohingya robbers with the arms, he said. With information revealed from the detainees another drive was also conducted at Kharer Island and several other arms and drugs were recovered, the CG officer said. In the primary interrogation, the detainees admitted that they had been involved with the robbery for a long time, he said, adding that they were residents of Ukhia and Teknaf camps. Read more: 9 ‘robbers’ arrested in Gazipur The Rohingyas set up a den at the isolated Kharer Island to carry out criminal activities smoothly to dodge the eyes of law enforcers, he added.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has said it seized goods, arms, and drugs worth Tk134.37 crore in November. The seized items include 521,989 yaba pills, 2.162kg crystal meth, 12,576 bottles of Phensedyl, 18,910 bottles of foreign liquor, 214 litres of local liquor, 1,315 cans of beer, 1,881kg hemp, 4kg heroin, 23,974 stimulant injections, 8,592 Eskuf syrups, and 1,618 bottles of MkDil/Cofidil, Shariful Islam, public relations officer of the BGB headquarters, said Friday. Read more: BGB, BSF agree to cut border killings Also, 55.546kg gold, 7kg silver, 212,563 cosmetics, 10,494 imitation jewellery, 17,424 sarees, 6,011 three-piece sets, blankets and shirt pieces; 1,631 pieces of readymade garments, 2,989 cubic feet of timber, 6,080kg tea leaves, 78,533kg coal, one touchstone idol, 68 motorcycles, two trucks/covered vans, five pickup vans, 24 CNG and battery-run auto-rickshaws were also seized. The seized arms include seven pistols, eight guns, as many cocktails, 24 mortar shells, 56 rounds of bullets, and a magazine. Read more: Gold bars worth Tk22 crore seized at Benapole: BGB Also, legal action was taken against 216 smugglers, 104 Bangladesh nationals and six Indian nationals for illegally crossing the border, Shariful said.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has said it seized goods, including arms and drugs, worth Tk98.05 crore in October. The seized items include 573,393 yaba pills, 2.120kg crystal meth, 13,670 bottles of Phensedyl, 20,227 bottles of foreign liquor, 120 litres of local liquor, 3,815 cans of beer, 2,214kg hemp, 527g heroin, 44,237 stimulant injections, 7,229 Eskuf syrups, and 1,605 bottles of MkDil/Cofidil, Shariful Islam, public relations officer of the BGB headquarters, said Wednesday. Read more: BGB seizes smuggled goods worth Tk 132 crore in May Also, 27.829kg gold, 24.489kg silver, 1,45,977 cosmetics, 5,702 imitation jewellery, 12,364 sarees, 5,323 three-piece sets, blankets and shirt pieces; 2,870 pieces of readymade garments, 3,564 cubic feet of timber, 4,709kg tea leaves, 35,250kg coal, one touchstone idol, 81 motorcycles, 7 trucks/covered vans, 10 pickup vans, 19 CNG and battery-run auto-rickshaws, and a car were also seized. The seized arms include four pistols, three guns, 29 rounds of bullets, and four magazines. Also, legal action was taken against 229 smugglers, 119 Bangladesh nationals and 11 Indian nationals for illegally crossing the border, Shariful said. Read more: BGB seizes drugs worth Tk 13.5cr in Cox's Bazar

Police on Saturday claimed to have arrested thirteen fugitives wanted in drugs, arms and murder cases in Benapole.However, police didn't disclose the identities of the arrestees.Acting on a tip-off, a team of police conducted simultaneous drives in different areas of Benapole Port area all day on Saturday and arrested them, said Kamal Hossain Bhuiyan, OC of Benapole Port Police Station. Read: 54 arrested at Benapole borderThe arrestees were produced before the court in Jashore under police protection, added the OC.

Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) claimed to have arrested three people and recovered four foreign revolvers, three foreign pistols and a huge amount of ammunitions from Kapashia Pahara area in Rajshahi city on Friday. The arrestees are identified as Md Atikur Rahman alias Atik, 35, son of Md Abdul Matin of Kapashia Parharpur, his cohorts Md Shaheen Ali, 25, son of Md Jhandu Mia of Charkajla and Md Shahidul Islam, 26, son of Md Nekchhar Ai of Dharampur Purbopara in the city respectively. Lieutenant Colonel Riaz Shahriar, commandant of the Rab-5, disclosed this information at a press conference in the Rab office of the city. Read: Arms, ammo recovered from Rajshahi border He said on information a team of the elite force conducted a drive at house of Atik and recovered four foreign revolvers, three foreign pistols, four magazines, eight rounds of bullet, 1.1 kilogram of gunpowder, 750 gram of stone used in making bomb and cocktail, other ammunitions, two mobile phone sets and four SIM cards. With information revealed from Atik, the elite force also arrested Shaheen and Shahidul from separate places in the city, he said. “The arrestees informed us that Rajshahi University’s students Tanjim, 27, and Md Abdur Rahim, 28, supplied the arms to them after collecting from an unknown place on Indian border,” he said. The varsity’s students are members of an anti-liberation force and their main target is to destabilise stability of the country, he said adding that drives are on to nab them. Replying to a question, the Rab officer said they had information the arrestees gathered the arms and ammunitions to create anarchy in Rajshahi as well as the country ahead of the next parliament elections.

Police in Noakhali's Hatia have reported the deaths of three men in what it described as a "shootout between two gangs of robbers," which erupted over a turf war, in Char Ghasia of Noakhali's Hatia early Thursday. The deceased were identified as Shahraj (35), Kabir (40) and Nurunnabi (45), Hatia Police Station Office-in-Charge Amir Hossain told UNB. Their bodies have been kept at Hatia's Chairman Ghat Police Outpost and will be sent to Noakhali 250 Bed General Hospital for autopsies early Friday, he added. Earlier, Bangladesh Coast Guard claimed to have detained five robbers with arms following the turf battle. The detainees are Md Hinju, 37, of Noakhali's Char Jabbar; Mohammad Harun, 37, of Lakshmipur's Ramgati, Mohammad Liton, 35, from the district's Char Gazi village, Mohammad Mosharof, 36, of Abdul Munshirhat Kalkini village and Azim Bepari, 27, of Char Abdullah village. During its drive, Coast Guard seized three single-shot rifles, two rounds of bullets, six machetes, five spears and many iron rods from them. According to locals, two robbers, who are also brothers, Khokon and Fakhrul were at loggerheads over establishing supremacy in Char Ghasia. Recently, Fakhrul took hold of the area after the law enforcers caught Khokon. Coming out of jail on bail a few days ago, Khokon tried to regain his hold. So, the dispute between the two brothers resurfaced and led to today's gunfight. Lieutenant Shafiul Kinjol, media officer of BCG Hatia, said: "Legal action will be taken against the detainees."      

Rab on Wednesday unearthed an illegal arms factory in a drive through a dense forested hill in Banshkhali upazila of Chattogram district on Tuesday. The elite force also detained one person identified as Zakir Hossain alias Zakerullah, 50 and seized 10 firearms including eight one-shutter guns during the drive, said commanding officer of Rab-7 Lieutenant Colonel MA Yusuf. Tipped off, Rab conducted a drive at Chambal Forest and busted the arms factory at a house of one Abdur Rahman at Natunpara in the upazila, said Col Yusuf told a press briefing held at Chandgaon Rab office. Rab also seized two pistols and huge firearms making materials from the spot. Zakir is believed to be the arms maker, said Rab. Rab also said three syndicates have been involved in illegal making, sale and purchase of arms in the remote area  Also read: Man held with 2 firearms, ammunition in Satkhira During primary interrogation, Zakir said pirates, drug peddlers and highway robbers are their main customers.  Each of the arms  sells between Tk 5000 and 10,000, he said.      

–A local leader of Bangladesh Chhatra League, who’s images holding firearms went viral on social networking site Facebook, was held from Rajshahi on Monday, said Rab. The arrestee is Abu Bakar Siddique alias Ratul, son of Mostafa Kamal of Sujanagar upazila in Pabna district. He is the vice-president of Manikhat union unit of BCL. Tipped off, a team of Rab detained Ratul from Boalia area in Rajshahi city in the morning, said Commanding officer of Rab-5, Lieutenant Colonel Reaz Shahrier at a press briefing at Rab-5 headquarters here. Also read: BCL leader expelled on allegation of abducting, torturing youth in Satkhira The images of Ratul holding firearms in his hand that went viral on Facebook drew a huge flack and since then he remained absconding. According to his statement, Rab members also seized one pistol, one magazine and three bullets from Sagarpara area of the city. Ratul confessed that uploaded the photos on FB to inform people that he keeps arms with him and establish himself as a criminal. Also read: BCL leader, 5 others held for cheating in teachers’ recruitment test

A member of the United People's Democratic Front (UPDF) was detained by the Bangladesh Army from the Kharikhyong area in Naniarchar upazila of Rangamati early Friday. The detainee was identified as Prashanta Tanchangya, 52, an active member of UPDF. Also read: UPDF chief collector held with arms in Khagrachari Lt Col Rubaiyat Hussain PSC, commander of Naniarchar Zone, said they nabbed Prashanta conducting a drive at Guichari in the Kharikhyong area in the early hours of Friday. During the drive, a pistol, two rounds of ammunition, a walkie-talkie, four notebooks and a copy of the extortion money receipt were seized from his possession. Also read: Army drive at UPDF den: Barracks, training centre destroyed in Khagrachhari Prashanta has been involved in extortion and murder, said the official. He was later handed over to the Rangamati police station. Legal steps are underway against the detainee, said Md Kabir Hossain, officer-in-charge of Kotwali police station in Rangamati.

Ukraine was bracing to battle for control of its industrial east and appealing for more help from the West after Russian forces withdrew from the shattered outskirts of Kyiv to regroup. Authorities were urging people to immediately evacuate from the Donbas region before Russia intensifies its offensive. In Brussels, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged NATO to provide more weapons for his war-torn country to help prevent further atrocities like those reported in the city of Bucha. “My agenda is very simple… it’s weapons, weapons and weapons,” Kuleba said as he arrived at NATO headquarters Thursday for talks with the military organization’s foreign ministers about Ukraine's fight against Russia's invasion. “We know how to fight. We know how to win. But without sustainable and sufficient supplies requested by Ukraine, these wins will be accompanied by enormous sacrifices,” Kuleba said. “The more weapons we get and the sooner they arrive in Ukraine, the more human lives will be saved.” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged members to provide more weapons and not just defensive arms. Some NATO members worry that they may be Russia’s next target but the alliance is striving to avoid moves that might pull countries directly into the conflict. “NATO is not sending troops to be on the ground. We also have a responsibility to prevent this conflict from escalating beyond Ukraine, and become even more deadly, even more dangerous and destructive,” Stoltenberg said. Also Read: Ukraine girds for renewed Russian offensive on eastern front A U.S. defense official speaking on condition of anonymity said Russia had pulled all of its estimated 24,000 or more troops from the Kyiv and Chernihiv areas in the north, sending them into Belarus or Russia to resupply and reorganize, probably to return to fight in the east. Growing numbers of Putin’s troops, along with mercenaries, have been reported moving into the Donbas. “Later, people will come under fire,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in urging civilians to evacuate from the mostly Russian-speaking industrial region, “and we won’t be able to do anything to help them.” Ukrainian forces have been fighting Russia-backed separatists in the Donbas since 2014. Ahead of its Feb. 24 invasion, Moscow recognized the Luhansk and Donetsk regions as independent states. Another Western official, also speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence estimates, said it may take Russia’s battle-damaged forces as much as a month to regroup for a major push on eastern Ukraine. In his nightly address Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also warned Russia's military is gearing up for a new offensive in the east. Ukraine, too, was preparing for battle, he said. “We will fight and we will not retreat,” he said. “We will seek all possible options to defend ourselves until Russia begins to seriously seek peace. This is our land. This is our future. And we won’t give them up.” In areas north of the capital, Ukrainian officials were gathering evidence of Russian atrocities amid signs Moscow’s troops killed people indiscriminately before retreating. Ukrainian authorities said the bodies of least 410 civilians were found in towns around Kyiv, victims of what Zelenskyy has portrayed as a Russian campaign of murder, rape, dismemberment and torture. Some victims had apparently been shot at close range. Some were found with their hands bound. Also Read: Ukrainian refugees find route to US goes through Mexico Zelenskyy accused Russia of interfering with an international investigation into possible war crimes by removing corpses and trying to hide other evidence in Bucha, northwest of Kyiv. “We have information that the Russian troops have changed tactics and are trying to remove the dead people, the dead Ukrainians, from the streets and cellars of territory they occupied,” he said during his latest video address. “This is only an attempt to hide the evidence and nothing more.” Switching from Ukrainian to Russian, Zelenskyy urged ordinary Russians “to somehow confront the Russian repressive machine” instead of being “equated with the Nazis for the rest of your life.” He called on Russians to demand an end to the war, “if you have even a little shame about what the Russian military is doing in Ukraine.” In reaction to the alleged atrocities outside Kyiv, the U.S. announced sanctions against Putin’s two adult daughters and said it is toughening penalties against Russian banks. Britain banned investment in Russia and pledged to end its dependence on Russian coal and oil by the end of the year. The U.S. Senate planned to take up legislation Thursday to end normal trade relations with Russia, paving the way for higher tariffs on some imports, and to codify President Joe Biden’s executive action banning imports of Russian oil. The European Union is also expected to take additional punitive measures, including an embargo on coal. The Kremlin has insisted its troops have committed no war crimes and alleged the images out of Bucha were staged by the Ukrainians. Bodies were still being collected in the city. On Wednesday, The Associated Press saw two in a house in a silent neighborhood. From time to time there was the muffled boom of workers clearing the town of mines and other unexploded ordnance. Workers at a cemetery began to load more than 60 bodies into a grocery shipping truck for transport to a facility for further investigation. Police said they found at least 20 bodies in the Makariv area west of Kyiv. In the village of Andriivka, residents said the Russians arrived in early March, taking locals’ phones and detaining and then releasing some people. Others met unknown fates. Some described sheltering for weeks in cellars normally used for storing vegetables. “First we were scared, now we are hysterical,” said Valentyna Klymenko, 64. She said she, her husband and two neighbors weathered the siege by sleeping on stacks of potatoes covered with a mattress and blankets. “We didn’t cry at first. Now we are crying.” In the southern port city of Mariupol, Mayor Vadym Boichenko said that of the more than 5,000 civilians killed during weeks of Russian bombardment and street fighting, 210 were children. Russian forces bombed hospitals, including one where 50 people burned to death, he said. Boichenko said more than 90% of the city’s infrastructure was destroyed. The attacks on the strategic city on the Sea of Azov have cut off food, water, fuel and medicine and pulverized homes and businesses. British defense officials said 160,000 people remained trapped in the city, which had a prewar population of 430,000. A humanitarian relief convoy accompanied by the Red Cross has been trying for days without success to get into the city. Capturing Mariupol would allow Russia to secure a continuous land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow seized from Ukraine in 2014.