Police have arrested six suspected members of an organised inter-district gang allegedly involved in stealing mobile phone tower batteries in Chattogram and other parts of the country.
The arrests were made during a series of raids in Chattogram and Cumilla between 27 and 30 October, according to a press release issued by Chattogram District Police on Saturday.
Police also recovered two Noah microbuses allegedly used in the thefts, two Vision batteries worth around Tk6 lakh and other equipment.
The arrested were identified as Md Sohag, 34, Sahid Hossain alias Shiblu, 32, Md Shamsuddin, 41, Md Mozammel Huq, 32, Md Yunus, 42, and Md Saiful Islam Swapan, 44.
According to police, four batteries were stolen from a Grameenphone mobile tower at Heyako Bazar under Bhujpur Police Station in Fatikchhari on the morning of 31 August after thieves broke the lock guard of its base transceiver station room.
A few days earlier, six batteries had been stolen from another mobile tower at Garder Bazar under the same police station.
Grameenphone authorities filed a case with Bhujpur Police Station on 7 October over the thefts.
Following the complaint, a special investigation team was formed under the leadership of the officer-in-charge of Bhujpur Police Station, with overall supervision from Chattogram Superintendent of Police Md Masud Alam.
Acting on information gathered during the investigation, police raided several locations in Chattogram on 27 October and arrested Sohag, Shiblu, Shamsuddin, Mozammel and Yunus. A Noah microbus allegedly used in the thefts was also seized.
On 28 October, a court granted police two days to question the five suspects in custody.
Based on information obtained during questioning, police conducted another raid in the Laksam area of Cumilla on 30 October and arrested Saiful Islam Swapan.
Police recovered another Noah microbus and two stolen batteries from his house.
According to the police’s preliminary investigation, the six suspects are members of an organised gang involved in stealing batteries from mobile phone towers across several districts. Multiple cases have been filed against them at different police stations.
Among those arrested, Sohag, Shamsuddin and Mozammel are from Nauti in Laksam, Cumilla, while Shiblu is from Nura Char in Keraniganj, Dhaka.
Yunus is from Ghoshgaon in Cumilla Sadar Dakshin, and Saiful Islam Swapan is from Paschimgaon in Laksam Municipality.
Police said the two recovered Vision batteries, each rated at 48 volts and 100 ampere-hours, have an estimated combined market value of Tk6 lakh.
Bhujpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Bipul Chandra Dey said operations were continuing to recover the remaining stolen batteries and arrest other suspects who remain at large.
