Police yesterday arrested three persons and recovered a submachine gun (SMG), a Brazilian-made 9mm Taurus pistol, and a foreign-made 0.32 bore revolver in connection with a shooting at the residence of a businessman in Chattogram city.

The arrestees – Abdul Kaiyum Chowdhury (also known as Emon), Mohammad Monir, and Mohammad Sayem – are reportedly associates of fugitive criminal Sazzad Ali, widely known as “Boro Sazzad,” who is believed to be hiding abroad.

At a press conference held at 10:30pm yesterday, Additional Commissioner of Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) Wahidul Haque Chowdhury said the firearms were used in an attack on the residence of Mostafizur Rahman Chowdhury, owner of Smart Group, on February 28, after he refused to pay a Tk 10 crore extortion demand.

The shooting was the second attack on Mostafizur Rahman's residence over the same extortion demand. The first incident occurred on January 2, when assailants also opened fire at his house in Chandanpura after he declined to pay the ransom.

Wahidul said: “Among the recovered firearms, the pistol was looted from Double Mooring Police Station and the revolver from Pahartali Police Station on August 5, 2024, and the SMG was purchased from a hill-based armed group in Khagrachhari. We also recovered 50 rounds for the SMG and nine rounds for the revolver.”

According to him, the weapons were recovered from multiple locations across the city: the revolver and ammunition from Chawkbazar, the Taurus pistol and a motorcycle from Panchlaish, and the SMG, along with two magazines, from Khulshi.

Wahidul further said that arrestee Abdul Kaiyum is a life-term convict in a case filed for killing eight people on July 12, 2000 at Bahaddarhat. Monir and Sayem each have 10 cases registered against them, including murder, robbery, extortion, and violations of the Arms Act.

He said police teams from Chawkbazar, Panchlaish, and Bayezid Bostami stations, acting on a tip-off, carried out coordinated operations to arrest the suspects and recover the weapons.

“We also recovered a video from Abdul Kaiyum showing a new member of the Boro Sazzad gang taking an oath on the holy Quran,” Wahidul added.

He described the gang as being actively involved in killings, robberies, extortion, and controlling sand quarries under Sazzad’s direction. “This operation is part of our ongoing efforts to crack down on organised crime in the city,” Wahidul said.