Law enforcement agencies recovered 11 locally made and foreign firearms along with a cache of sharp weapons during an overnight joint operation in Chattogram’s Raozan upazila. Five suspected criminals were arrested in the raid.
The operation began late on Wednesday night and continued until 7:30am on Thursday across multiple areas under Raozan Police Station, including Noapara, Bagoan, East and West Gujra, Sultanpur, Kodalpur, Raozan Union Parishad and Raozan Municipality.
Chattogram District Superintendent of Police Saiful Islam Santu confirmed the operation on Thursday. He said seven district police teams, two RAB-7 teams, Naval Police, and members of the 9 APBn took part, with 17 check-posts set up around Raozan.
Police recovered 11 LGs, six rounds of cartridges, 14 knives, three large knives, two machetes, two swords and several other weapons during the raid. Five suspected criminals were detained.
According to district police data, 10 cases under the Arms Act were filed in Raozan this month alone.
Eight people were arrested and 24 firearms, 85 bullets and 32 cartridges were recovered.
From January to November, police across Chattogram seized 577 firearms and 462 rounds of bullets and arrested 140 individuals.
Criminals using hackers to evade law enforcement
Addressing questions from journalists, SP Saiful Islam Santu said criminals in Chattogram have begun using their own hackers. “We are tackling these challenges head-on. We are using technology and making our best efforts,” he said.
He added that notorious criminal Raihan, accused in seven murder cases, frequently changes locations and threatens people using Indian and Middle Eastern phone numbers. “We have no reports of victims receiving multiple calls from the same number,” he said.
Police said although Raihan’s voice has been tracked, there is no recent sighting of him. They added that if he is hiding anywhere in Chattogram, they are fully prepared to arrest him.
The SP said criminals share information through an internal network. “They exchange details on where killings or crimes occur. Even inside prisons, criminal links come to light,” he said.
‘No room for testing threats’
District police said criminals are making threats using foreign numbers under different aliases, including Sajjad and Raihan.
“If someone receives a death threat, there is no scope for testing it—we must act immediately to catch the accused,” said SP Santu.
He said Wednesday night’s operation was not pre-planned. “We acted urgently to identify who was connected to the criminals and where. Such operations will continue to make Raozan crime-free,” he added.
