On 5 August 2024, the day the Awami League government fell following a mass uprising, several police stations under Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) came under attack, with incidents of vandalism and looting.
Government firearms and large quantities of ammunition were stolen from police station armouries. Over two years after the incidents, not all the weapons and ammunition have been recovered.
Despite operations by law enforcement agencies, intelligence surveillance and assistance from local residents, 238 government firearms belonging to Chattogram Range and metropolitan police remain unaccounted for.
There are no clear answers to why all the weapons have yet to be recovered, where they are now or who still has them.
However, weapons recovered at different times, arrests over alleged firearms sales and discoveries of weapons in ponds indicate that some of the looted firearms had been hidden at various locations. Some also appear to have changed hands.
According to consolidated statistics from the 11 districts under Chattogram Range, a total of 570 government firearms were looted from police stations during the mass uprising. Of these, 476 have been recovered, while 94 remain missing.
District-wise figures show that 232 government firearms were looted in Chattogram district, of which 201 have been recovered, leaving 31 unaccounted for.
In Noakhali, 108 of 130 firearms have been recovered, with 22 still missing. In Cumilla, 96 of 113 have been recovered, leaving 17 missing. In Feni, 26 of 33 have been recovered, with seven still unaccounted for. In Lakshmipur, 33 of 46 have been recovered, while 13 remain missing.
In addition, six of nine firearms looted in Brahmanbaria have been recovered, leaving three missing. The single firearm looted in Chandpur has been recovered, as has the only one reported stolen in Rangamati. In Cox’s Bazar, four of the five looted firearms have been recovered, leaving one unaccounted for.
No government firearms were reported looted during the uprising in Bandarban or Khagrachhari.
Meanwhile, 944 firearms were looted from 16 CMP police stations. Of these, 800 have been recovered, while 144 remain missing.
Several recovery operations have revealed that looted firearms and ammunition were hidden in ponds, behind houses and in abandoned places.
On 10 November 2025, police recovered a Chinese rifle, a shotgun and seven rounds of ammunition after draining a pond near Chowdhuryhat Bazar in Noapara Union of Raozan. The weapons were recovered based on information provided by two young men arrested in a case for killing a BNP activist.
On 25 December 2024, police recovered two revolvers and 16 rounds of ammunition from an abandoned site near Dhup Pol in the Sagarika area under Pahartali Police Station in the city. Police said the weapons had been looted from the police station armoury.
There have also been arrests over the possession of ammunition looted from Lohagara Police Station and the alleged sale of firearms stolen from the station. In a separate incident, another person was arrested from Chunti Bazar over the alleged sale of weapons.
After two government firearms used in the Nezam-Salek murder case in Satkania were recovered, a police constable was arrested on allegations of selling them. He was subsequently dismissed from service.
Large quantities of ammunition also remain unrecovered. Across the 11 districts under Chattogram Range, 47,400 rounds of ammunition were looted, of which 25,378 have been recovered. The remaining 22,022 rounds are still missing.
A total of 86,467 rounds of ammunition were looted from CMP. Of these, 69,051 rounds have been recovered, while 17,416 remain unaccounted for.
Asked when the 94 government firearms looted from areas under Chattogram Range would be recovered, Range Deputy Inspector General of Police Abdul Quddus Chowdhury said efforts were under way to recover all the stolen weapons.
He said intelligence surveillance and operations were continuing to achieve a full recovery. Seeking public cooperation, he urged people to inform law enforcement agencies if they knew of anyone in possession of illegal firearms in their neighbourhoods.
He assured them that informants’ safety and confidentiality would be protected and that those involved would be brought to justice.
Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Saddam Hossain Azad said illegally possessing, transferring or concealing government firearms and ammunition constituted serious offences.
He said the Arms Act and the Penal Code prescribed stringent punishments for such offences.
