In one of the biggest hauls of chemical products in recent times, the police have recovered around 1,200kg of chemicals they suspect were being used to make crude bombs.
In separate drives in Dhaka and Chittagong early yesterday, the police also arrested four people suspected of using the chemicals to create crude bombs and supplying it across the country.
However, no links have so far been found between any militant organisations and the arrestees: Saidul Islam, 45; Md Awal, 38; Sharif Alam, 28; and Jahangir Alam, 42.
Detective Branch Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam made the disclosure at a press conference in the DMP media centre yesterday.
Monirul, the chief of DB, said detectives posed as buyers to meet Awal – who had offered to sell two kilograms of bomb-making material – before arresting him from the capital’s Lalbagh and seizing the explosives from his possession. Based on his information, the DB later detained two of his associates – Sharif and Alam – from the Chawkbazar area.
The arrested men told the police that they had collected the materials from a person named Saidul who lived in Chittagong. Acting on the information, the DB team conducted a raid at a house in the port city’s Sadarghat Road and arrested Saidul.
It was here that they found 1,198 kilograms of bomb-making chemical products tucked away in small sacks. Saidul claimed he had been stockpiling the legally-bought materials for the past seven years.
Only 2kg of the seized chemicals would be enough to produce thousands of bombs, while combined – the materials would cause massive destructions, Monirul said.
The police, however, had no lead on where the explosives might have been imported from.
“We would check out whether the arrestees have any political link as the explosive might have been used to create crude bombs,” he added.
Asked about which kind of explosives were recovered, the joint commissioner said there were three types of chemicals in the sacks – most of it was sulphur, while there was also lithium and some hexachloride substance which detectives could not identify immediately.
“Using some additional materials and mixing it properly, bombs can be made,” Monirul said.
A senior DB official, who was present during Saidul’s arrest, said the detainee claimed that he had legally bought the explosives through a bank tender; but Saidul failed to name the bank or produce any document supporting his claim.
DB chief Monirul said they would need to verify the claims; but during primary interrogation, the detectives have found that the materials were purchased in order to be supplied to professional bomb makers.
“Saidul was searching for customers for the explosives as it is not possible to preserve the explosives for a long time because it [exposure] causes skin diseases to the people who live nearby,” the DB spokesperson said.
On June 19, detectives arrested four people including a lab assistant of Dhaka University, suspected of supplying explosives to militants.
Asked whether the latest arrestees had any link with that group, Monirul said they did not have any information on that regard yet.
Following yesterday’s arrests, a case was filed with Lalbagh police station and detectives placed the arrested men before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court seeking a 10-day remand.
“However, the DB team placed the arrestees in the court at 5pm and the court timing ends at 3:30pm; for which reason, the arrestees were sent back. The hearing in this regard will be held tomorrow [Tuesday],” Ashraful Alam, general recording officer at the CMM court, told the Dhaka Tribune.
