Chattogram PBI arrests key gang member posing as DB officers after 6-month probe

The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) of Chattogram has identified at least 10 groups involved in crimes while posing as law enforcement personnel in the port city and other parts of the country.

After a six-month investigation into the abduction and robbery of a gold trader by a gang posing as Detective Branch (DB) officers, the PBI arrested one of its key members.

The arrested, Md Saju Miah, 37, is a resident of Sreepur Union in Sundarganj Upazila of Gaibandha. A PBI team arrested him from Dhaka's Golapbagh area on the night of 16 August.

PBI Chattogram Superintendent of Police SM Rafiqul Islam disclosed the information at a press conference at the PBI Chattogram office today (18 August).

He said investigators had monitored the gang's movements for six months after the case was transferred to the PBI.

Several operations were conducted across different districts, but Saju Miah evaded arrest until he was finally arrested in Dhaka's Golapbagh on 16 August.

The officer said Saju changed his SIM card at least 20 times and frequently changed locations to evade technology-based tracking.

He said the PBI was now working to arrest other members of the gang.

The PBI said Saju had given a confessional statement before a court, naming five to six others allegedly involved in the crime.

According to the case documents, victim Pulak Das, 45, owns Nabarupa Shilpalay, a jewellery shop on the second floor of Hazari Market in Chattogram's Hazari Lane.

On the night of 29 September 2024, Pulak was returning home after selling jewellery, carrying cash and unsold gold. At around 9:45pm, several men wearing DB police uniforms intercepted him near the underground area of the Central Shaheed Minar on KC Dey Road.

The men identified themselves as DB officers, surrounded him and immobilised him with his hands behind his back. When he shouted for help, one of them covered his mouth with a washcloth.

The men then blindfolded Pulak, gagged him with a washcloth and forced him into a microbus. The PBI said they beat him inside the vehicle, tied his hands and legs with a washcloth and took him to an unknown location.

They took a black bag from the victim containing gold jewellery and cash, an Omega wristwatch and a OnePlus 10R mobile phone.

The bag contained Tk17.90 lakh in cash and over 77 bhori of gold jewellery, according to the case statement.

The total value of the stolen goods and other belongings was estimated at Tk1.15 crore.

The perpetrators later took Pulak to the Boro Darogarhat Scale area under Sitakunda Police Station and left him by the roadside with his hands and legs tied.

Pulak filed a case with Kotwali Police Station on 8 October 2024 against unidentified individuals.

The case was initially investigated by Kotwali police before being transferred to the PBI's Chattogram unit following an application by the complainant and a court order.

After taking over the investigation, PBI officials reviewed CCTV footage and traced the stolen phone, eventually recovering it from Mirsarai's Govonia area.

Analysing CCTV footage, technological data and records from various cases, investigators identified Saju Miah's alleged involvement and conducted operations in Gaibandha, Dhaka, Madaripur and several other places to arrest him.

However, he repeatedly changed locations and evaded arrest until a PBI team led by Sub-Inspector Abdur Rashid arrested him in Dhaka's Golapbagh at around 8:30pm on 16 August, according to the PBI.

He was produced before a court the following day and voluntarily gave a confessional statement.

PBI Chattogram SP SM Rafiqul Islam said the agency had identified at least 10 gangs involved in crimes while posing as law enforcement personnel in Chattogram and elsewhere in the country.

"Work is underway to identify and arrest members of these gangs," he said.

He said the case was the first among such cases transferred to PBI Chattogram in which an alleged gang member had been arrested after a six-month investigation.

The PBI official urged people to remain alert against individuals falsely claiming to be law enforcement personnel.

He advised people to verify the identity of anyone claiming to be a law enforcement officer by contacting the emergency service 999 or the local police station.

He also urged people not to accompany strangers posing as law enforcers who attempt to detain, question or search them without first verifying their identities.

The PBI said operations were underway to identify and arrest the remaining suspects based on information provided by Saju in his confessional statement. Their names have not been disclosed in the interest of the investigation.

Investigators also found that Saju faces at least three cases involving similar crimes, in which he was accused of posing as a law enforcement officer.