Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on Friday arrested six people, including Hafizur Rahman, alias “Saleh Dakat” an alleged leader of Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Arsa) after a raid in Cox's Bazar's Teknaf upazila.
The arrestees are members of Hafizur Rahman's gang. They are - Nurul Alam, 40, Akter Kamal alias Sohel, 37, Nurul Alam alias Lalu, 24, Harum-ur-Rashid, 23, Riaz Uddin alias Bappi, 17.
One foreign pistol, several rounds of bullets and ammo, three locally made single-barreled big guns, two single-barreled medium guns, six single-barreled small guns, eight knives and other weapons were recovered from the spot.
Commander Khandarkar Al Moin, director of the Legal and Media Wing of RAB, confirmed the matter at a press conference at RAB-15 Cox's Bazar office on Saturday.
According to RAB's intelligence agency, Hafizur Rahman is one of the leaders of the Arsa. He is currently leading the party after Arsa chief Ataullah.
Rahman and his family are not registered as Rohingya despite entering the country from Myanmar. Hence he has been able to commit various crimes including kidnapping and robbery in Bangladesh without getting caught.
"Hafizur Rahman illegally entered Bangladesh in 2012 from Myanmar. He then got involved with several gangs and conducted crimes in Bangladesh before leaving for Malaysia in 2013," said the RAB official.
Rahman again illegally came back to Bangladesh in 2019 and stayed in various places in Cox's Bazar including Ukhiya. He often went to various neighbouring countries to conduct crimes that include killing, kidnapping, human trafficking, drug peddling, robbery, and more, the official said.
The RAB official also noted that Hafizur Rahman has several cases filed against him, and he is known in many countries for the crimes he has committed.
During primary interrogation, Rahman confessed to kidnapping several people including 10 farmers, one Rohingya woman, one Rohingya man, and six to seven locals, Commander Khandarkar Al Moin said.
He has also taken Tk5-10 lakh from each abductee as ransom.