Staff Reporter :
They are pickpockets. They are experts and professional. They work in a coordinated way to steal the cash and valuables of general people without their notice. They operate not only in within the country, but also in international locations.
This time they had planned to flourish their lucrative business in Saudi Arabia during the upcoming Hajj season and set a target to dig up minimum Tk one crore by cutting the pockets of pilgrims.
Everything was ready. Three skilled pickpockets were waiting for final moment to fly to Saudi Arabia in the guise of pilgrims. For that reason, they also invested Tk 12 lakh for getting Saudi visa. But all went in vain.
The detectives busted the gang of pickpockets on Thursday arresting a gang of six including mastermind Haji Abdul Gafur from Malibagh rail gate in the city. Later, another group of six was picked up from Shahbagh area based on their information.
The arrestees in Shahbagh were identified as Nurul Anwar, Sujan Khan, Abul Bashar, Abul Hasan, Akhter Hossain and Abul Kalam. Besides, the detainees of Malibagh were identified as, Md Tutul Biswas Sumon, second-in command Kazi Sarwar Jamal alias Netaji, Md Ibrahim, Monir Hossain and Saiful Islam alias Bachhu.
Police said, Haji Abdul Gafur invested Tk 12 lakh to make a grand deal of Tk one crore. For this, he assigned a team led by Tutul Biswas and its second-in command was Kazi Sarwar Jamal Netaji.
Of them, Gafur and Tutul managed visas this year and another one Md Rawshan trying to accompany them. He is now on the run. Tutul was earlier caught in Saudi Arabia and served two years imprisonment there, the police said.
“The gang usually takes away cash and valuables from the bus passengers in Dhaka and its adjacent districts by feeding them medicated pickles. The passengers become unconscious taking the toxic food. Nurul Anwar led the gang and his second-in command is Sujan Khan,” Monirul Islam, Joint Commissioner, Detective and Criminal Intelligence Division, Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said.
“About four to five members of the gang go to Saudi Arabia every year for pick pocketing targeting the hajj pilgrims. This year, Abdul Gafur and Rawshan took preparation to go to Saudi Arabia,” he said.
Elaborating the activities of pickpocket gang, the DB Boss said, “Some members of the gang have already been suffering jail term in Saudi Arabia after they were caught red-handed during pick pocketing in the previous years. Even some Rohingya nationals are also involved in the crime. This sorts of activities are tarnishing the image of country,” he said.
The detective official further said that they would inform the airport immigration authority take necessary precaution about the international pickpockets.
The pickpockets usually operate in high traffic areas such as mass transit stations, even boarding subway trains so they can use the distractions of crowds and sudden stop-and-go movements from the train to steal from others.
Pickpockets may be found in any crowded place around the world. However, Barcelona and Rome were recently singled out as being particularly dangerous pickpocket havens, according to wikipedia.
