Detective Branch (DB) of police arrested three arms dealers from the capital’s Darus Salam area early yesterday.
The arrestees were Md Moniruzzaman alias Shimul, 39, Kamal Hossain, 36, and Ruhul Amin, 30.
A car, five foreign pistols, eight magazines and two rounds of bullets were also recovered from their possession.
The arrestees, during primary interrogation, confessed to their involvement in illegal arms trading, said Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of DB police, while addressing a briefing at DMP Media Centre.
A major portion of illegal arms shipment goes to the hands of expelled political leaders who later use them in political clashes to establish supremacy in their areas, said DB officials.
“Criminals divided into at least 15 groups are involved in the illegal arms trading. They bring the arms from neighbouring India through different porous border points of the country evading the eyes of law enforcers,” said Monirul.
He said they had extracted the information from the three arms dealers. The DB chief said one of the arrested, Shimu, brought five pistols through the Chapainawabganj border and was supposed to hand them over to some Kamal and Ruhul in Kallyanpur.
Political activists, leaders, local goons and professional killers are mostly the buyers of those illegal arms, the joint commissioner said.
“We have come to know that most of the buyers are political leaders or activists and our investigation is underway to verify their claims.”
A case was filed with Darus Salam police station under the arms act against the three.
Meanwhile, Golam Rasul, sub-inspector of DB police and investigation officer of the case placed the arrestees before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate seeking a seven-day remand.
After the hearing Metropolitan Magistrate Sabrina Ali granted them a three-day remand each.
