The hunt for firearms looted during the July uprising is set to expand beyond raids and checkpoints, with law enforcers planning to search water bodies, monitor online arms trading and increase surveillance of people linked to arms cases.
The expanded drive will begin next week, as 1,427 of 5,942 looted government firearms and 2,79,467 rounds of ammunition remain unrecovered.
The measures are part of a joint action plan drawn up at a coordination meeting led by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) at its headquarters on August 30.
Representatives of RAB, police, intelligence agencies, the Coast Guard, Ansar and VDP, the Prison Directorate, the Fire Service, and other agencies attended the meeting, according to minutes sent to the Home Ministry on September 9.
Law enforcers plan water searches, online monitoring and wider surveillance as 1,427 firearms and 2,79,467 rounds of ammunition remain missing.
At the meeting, RAB Director General Ahsan Habib Palash highlighted the risk of the missing weapons being used by criminals and drug dealers, and called for intensified efforts to trace the arms and those holding them.
Under the plan, law enforcers will identify areas from where arms were looted and locations where they were later recovered to identify “hotspots” for further operations.
Police stations, outposts and nearby areas from where arms went missing will be revisited. Similar inquiries will be conducted around places where looted weapons have been recovered.
Water bodies where firearms have been found, or where information suggests weapons may have been dumped, will be searched with help from the Fire Service and local administration.
The plan also calls for surprise highway checkpoints using metal detectors and dog squads.
A central coordination cell at RAB headquarters will receive information and decide on joint operations, while a central digital database will track recovered and unrecovered arms and ammunition.
Agencies will send daily updates on recoveries and related arrests, according to the minutes.
Investigators will examine CCTV, video, and social media footage to identify people involved in looting or moving the weapons.
The plan also calls for round-the-clock monitoring of arms and ammunition trading through WhatsApp and Telegram and maximum efforts from agencies to prevent transactions through the “Dark Web”.
Intelligence agencies will step up surveillance and share information centrally for joint or individual operations.
The Prison Directorate, meanwhile, will facilitate questioning of people detained in arms cases during and after the uprising, with assistance from prison intelligence.
Lists will be prepared of people convicted in arms cases and accused persons released on bail, and their movements will be monitored.
Authorities also plan to seek information from local public representatives, political and religious leaders, teachers, journalists, Ansar-VDP members, chowkidars, youth groups and night guards, under a “Whole of Society Approach”, according to documents.
In areas where fewer looted firearms have been recovered, public participation will be encouraged through media campaigns, leaflets, posters and banners.
Four hotline numbers -- 01777711441, 01777711442, 01777711443 and 01777711444 -- have been set up at RAB headquarters to receive information on missing arms and ammunition. People can also contact the authorities through WhatsApp, Imo, Telegram, and Viber.
The identity of informants will be kept confidential. Anyone can “voluntarily and unconditionally” surrender looted firearms until November 15, 2026, and no legal action will be taken against anyone for providing information about looted government arms or ammunition, according to the minutes.
Cash rewards have also been fixed for information leading to recoveries -- Tk 2 lakh for each rifle, SMG, LMG or sniper weapon; Tk 50,000 for each shotgun, pistol or gas gun; Tk 1,500 for each sound grenade or tear shell; and Tk 50 for each round of ammunition.
