Six Rohingya robbers detained with arms, ammunition in Teknaf
The gang had been carrying out robbery, drug peddling and human trafficking for a long time in the isolated island, Coast Guard officials say
Coast Guard members have detained six members of an armed Rohingya robbers' gang along with huge firearms, ammunition and 20,000 Yaba tablets from a remote island of Teknaf upazila in Cox's Bazar.
The six arrested are Md Ibrahim, Md Arif and Md Mahmudur Rahman of Thangkhali Rohingya camp in Teknaf, Md Amin and Md Kaniz of Unchiprang camp and Md Nabi Hossain of Balukhali camp in Ukhiya.
"After a nine-hour operation, starting from 1pm on Monday, the coast guard members seized two foreign pistols, three single barrel guns, two LGs, one shotgun, six local pistols, four pistol magazines, 450 rounds of fresh ammunition, shells of 39 round ammunitions, four local knives, 20,000 Yaba tablets, 21 bottles of foreign liquor, 551 cans of beer, seven sets of clothes used for robbery, one handcuff, one land phone, and four feature phones," said Coast Guard Teknaf Station Officer Lt Commander Md Mohiuddin Zaman during a press briefing on Tuesday.
During the briefing, Lt Commander Md Mohiuddin Zaman said being tipped off that an armed robber gang was preparing to rob fishing boats at the mouth of the Naf River in the Bay of Bengal near Shahpari Dwip.
Sensing the presence of the Coast Guard, the gang tried to move quickly from the Naf estuary towards Teknaf with their boats.
Members of the Coastguard's St Martin's Station tried to catch the robbers. Meanwhile, members of Teknaf station joined the chase. At that time, the robbers' boat disembarked the robbers at the Khorer dwip of Naf River near Rangikhali in Teknaf and moved toward Myanmar, he added.
Lt Commander Md Mohiuddin Zaman said, later, the two Coast Guard teams of Teknaf and St Martin jointly conducted a combing operation at the island and detained the six robbers.
The process of legal action is underway in this regard, he added.
He also said the Coast Guard had intelligence information that an organised gang had been carrying out various crimes including robbery, drug peddling and human trafficking for a long time as the island is remote, isolated and uninhabited from Teknaf.