Rab arrests 6 members of garment cargo robbery gang from Narayanganj

Rab today arrested six alleged members of a garment cargo robbery gang and recovered goods worth around Tk 6 crore from Narayanganj's Bandar area.

The arrestees are: Sirajul Islam (27), Jahir (40), Jony (24), Jamir Khan (40), Nur Zaman (58), and Tobarak Hossain (39).

A team of Rab-4 arrested them when they were unloading finished garment products from a covered-van at an abandoned mill in Bandar area, Mozammel Haque, commanding officer of Rab-4, told a press briefing today.

The Rab officer said such robbery happens in connivance with the transport drivers, on their way to Chattogram port from the factories in Dhaka and Gazipur.

Photo: collected

The gang used to stop the vehicles and unload 35 to 40 percent of the products at roadside warehouses, he said, adding that they sealed the cartons again and sent those to the port which were later shipped abroad.

The buyers would discover less amount of finished products, with rags and other material inside. This tarnished the image of the country and caused losses to garments exporters, he said.

The arrestees, during primary interrogation, said that they have long been involved in such crime. After a successful robbery, they used to sell the products at discounted prices.

Sometimes these gangs stole 35 to 40 percent of the total products and at times they made away with the covered-van. The drivers usually got Tk 1.5 lakh while the labour used for unloading the goods got Tk 50,000; the robbery gang took the rest, he added.  

According to Bangladesh Truck Covered Van Owners Association, in last couple of months, they received reports of more than 50 such incidences of robbery on Dhaka-Chattogram highway.