In a special drive by Detective Branch (DB) of Police five members of a gang of car thieves called “Tana Party” were arrested over the last few days from Dhaka and Sylhet, and recovered seven stolen cars from them.
The men arrested Mohammad Abdul Khalek, 33, Roni, 31, Rajib, 29, Ali Ahmed, 47, and Mohammad Azim, 38 were produced before the media at a press briefing Friday.
DB’s Deputy Commissioner (DC) Masudur Rahman told reporters a team led by Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Mokhlesur Rahman managed to catch the gang members.
DC Rahman said the members stole vehicles outside Dhaka and sold them cheap. They targeted old cars with locks that could be easily picked. He said there were several cases lodged against the men at various police stations.
The DC said the men would be interrogated to procure information about other gang members.
DB officials said gangs involved in car theft have 60-70 members working in small teams.
According to Dhaka Metropolitan Police records at least 15 cars and 15 motorcycles were stolen in the last 30 days in Dhaka. Police have occasionally found some stolen cars abandoned on the streets but motorcycles are rarely recovered.
The last car was stolen two days back from Uttara belonged to a private company. When the driver was cleaning the car, four men drove up and stopped in front of the driver, then demanded he give them the keys to the car. When the driver refused, they stabbed his arms several times and snatched the keys from him.
ADC Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune that these gangs are well organised and thoroughly plan their moves.
“Several teams position themselves at different spots. For instance if one team is in charge of stealing or hijacking the vehicle, a second team will drive it out of the capital and a third team will paint it and sell it, while a different team will be responsible for finding customers,” sid the ADC and assured reporters that the Detective Branch will continue its efforts to catch such criminal
DB sources said the gangs used stolen cars to hijack people.
Ever since law enforcers have tightened stop and search efforts of auto-rickshaws, taxicabs and checked passengers and drivers at night, these gangs have found it more profitable to hijack with expensive cars, said sources.
The gang members usually target lone motorcyclists and expensive cars. When they find a target, they obstruct its way by parking their vehicle across the road, and then rob the passengers of the vehicle.
Josim Mollah, a gang member arrested recently, told DB officials he could pick a motorcycle lock in ten seconds. The gang members practised how to pick locks before any operation and each team had specially trained members.
ADC Rahman said gangs adopted new techniques every time they stole a car and they never stayed in one place so the police could not trace them easily.