22 held in Jungle Salimpur raid

BSS :

Three cases have been filed with Sitakunda Police following the arrest of 22 alleged criminals and recovery of a large cache of illegal arms and ammunition during an eight-hour combing operation at Jungle Salimpur slum, an outskirt of Chattogram city under Sitakunda upazila.

Officials at a press conference yesterday confirmed that the army-led operation, which involved 3,183 personnel from different law enforcement agencies, successfully dismantled a criminal hideout. Of the three cases, RAB-7 lodged one while the police registered two in connection with the arrests and seizure.

The recovered items included three locally and foreign-made pistols, 27 pipe guns, 30 pistol magazines, 57 pipe pieces used in arms manufacturing, 61 cartridges, and 1,113 rounds of bullets of various categories.

In addition, 11 cocktails, a substantial quantity of arms-making materials, and pipe gun manufacturing machines were seized.

Lt Colonel Hafizur Rahman, chief of RAB-7, said that 7.62mm, 9mm, and .22-bore bullets were among the recovered ammunition. “These arms and ammunitions are usually used in areas near the Myanmar border.
The organized criminal gang had turned this hilly slum into a terrorist hub, which was destroyed during yesterday’s raid,” he added.

DIG of Police, Chattogram Range, Ahsan Habib Palash said authorities are now considering establishing an investigation center in the area instead of a full-fledged police camp. “Setting up a police station or outpost is not our priority; our goal is to bring the entire area under administrative control,” he said.