Enu, Rupon’s safe house for ill-gotten cash busted
RAB seized casino equipment, Tk26.55 crore in cash, 1 kg of gold jewellery, 9,000 US dollars and FDRs worth Tk5.15 crore from the residence of Enu and Rupon
-Enamul and Rupon made huge money through illegal casino business
-The duo were arrested on January 13 this year
-They confessed to buying 100 flats and 22 homes since the 2000s using their ill-gotten wealth
-Multiple cases have been filed against the brothers
-Two more raids were conducted earlier in their other residences
At the end of a narrow walkway on Lalmohon Saha Street in Dhaka's Wari area, there are three high-rise buildings with collapsible gates and padlocks.
These buildings belong to expelled Awami League leaders Enamul Haque Enu and his brother Rupon Bhuiyan, who had served as Gendaria Thana Awami League's vice president and joint secretary respectively.
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The brothers, currently in custody for reported involvement in the illegal casino business, named the buildings "Momtaz Villa" – perhaps as a gesture of love for their mother.
The buildings look quite normal to outsiders, mostly due to the lack of decoration. However, any visitor would be amazed by the amount of security equipment installed inside.
It came as a genuine shock to the people of this neighbourhood when the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) raided one of the buildings on Tuesday. The law enforcers had to break the doors of the building and the heavy padlocks of the main gate to enter the residence.
The RAB seized casino equipment, Tk26.55 crore in cash, one kilogram of gold jewellery, 9,000 US dollars and FDRs worth Tk5.15 crore from the residence of the two brothers in a drive against the illegal casino business.
RAB 3 Commanding Officer Lt Col Rakibul Hasan made the announcement at a press briefing the same day, adding that the operation began around Monday midnight and continued for at least 12 hours into Tuesday.
He also told the media that the duo had amassed huge amounts of money through the illegal casino business and had intended to launder the money abroad.
Meanwhile, RAB 3 Operations Officer Additional SP Faijul Islam said that they carried out the raid on a tip off.
Another RAB 3 official said that the two brothers amassed hundreds of crores of taka and invested it in land and vehicles.
He further said, "They already possess at least a hundred flats and buildings at different places in and outside Dhaka. The brothers built such safe houses with heavy security after failing to launder the money abroad through illegal channels.
"Shiblu, another brother of Enu and Rupon, used to guard these safe houses. We are currently trying to track him down."
The RAB 3 officials also confirmed that they will collect information from local land offices on how much land has been bought under the names of these brothers.
100 flats and 22 homes
The illegal casino business had turned out to be the mythical Aladdin's magic lamp for brothers Enamul Haque Enu and Rupon Bhuiyan, making them rich beyond their wildest dreams.
The brothers were arrested on January 13 this year, and during interrogation by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), they confessed to buying 100 flats and 22 homes since the 2000s using their ill-gotten wealth.
They now have five luxury vehicles and crores of taka in banks. The CID also learnt that the brothers own four bighas of land in and outside Dhaka.
The RAB raided Enu and Rupon's home on September 24 last year, and seized Tk5 crore in cash, 7.5 kilograms of gold jewellery and six firearms.
Multiple cases have been filed against the brothers at the Sutrapur and the Gendaria police stations over this matter. However, Enu and Rupon managed to elude the law for months.
On January 13, the CID arrested the two from a rented house in Keraniganj on a tip off. They also seized Tk40 lakh in cash and 12 mobile phones.
