Police have arrested three people in connection with an organized robbery at a battery factory in Dhamrai, on the outskirts of Dhaka, and recovered looted materials along with two pickup vans used in the crime.
The arrests were made during separate raids on Friday night in Bera of Pabna, Ullapara of Sirajganj, and Singair of Manikganj, police said.
The detainees were identified as Zahid Hasan, 35; Chand Mia, 62; and Shoaib Mia, 39.
According to police, a gang of 35 to 40 armed robbers stormed the factory late on March 22. The attackers, carrying firearms and locally made weapons, assaulted and tied up security guards before looting goods worth approximately Tk 5.8 million.
Factory owner Md Rubel filed a case with Dhamrai Police Station following the incident.
Police said members of the gang were identified using information technology. Zahid Hasan was arrested first, and a pickup van used in the robbery was seized from his possession. Based on his information, Chand Mia was later arrested in Pabna’s Bera.
During interrogation, Chand Mia confessed to purchasing the looted goods for Tk 1.7 million and selling them to Shoaib Mia for Tk 2.4 million. Acting on his statement, police arrested Shoaib Mia in Singair.
From Shoaib’s factory warehouse, police recovered 49 lead bars produced by melting the stolen battery raw materials. The recovered lead weighed approximately 1,449 kilograms, with an estimated value of Tk 468,000.
Another pickup van used in the robbery was recovered from Ullapara in Sirajganj. Police said the total value of the two recovered vehicles is around Tk 4.8 million.
Investigating officer SM Kawsar Sultan, a sub-inspector at Dhamrai Police Station, said several other suspects involved in the robbery remain at large and efforts are ongoing to apprehend them. The investigation is continuing.