Dhaka police arrest 500 in 24-hour crime crackdown

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) arrested 500 people in the capital over the past 24 hours as part of its regular crime-control operations, officials said.

During the same period, 58 cases were filed at different police stations across the city in connection with separate incidents, according to DMP.

DMP Media and Public Relations Division Additional Deputy Commissioner Niaz Mehedi disclosed the figures on Thursday (August 13).

The Mirpur division recorded the highest number of arrests, with 101 people detained. It was followed by Motijheel with 85, Wari with 65, Tejgaon with 53, Lalbagh with 49 and Ramna with 46.

Police also arrested 43 people in Uttara, 34 in Gulshan, 17 in the Detective Branch and seven in operations conducted by the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit.

During the operations, police recovered two foreign-made pistols, five rounds of ammunition and two magazines. They also seized three machetes, a hammer, a toy pistol and six mobile phones.

In separate anti-drug drives, police recovered 12.2kg of cannabis, 6,647 yaba tablets, 40 bottles of Phensedyl and 100 grams of heroin along with three small packets of the drug.

Police also recovered a five-kilogram brass mesh and rescued one victim during the operations.

The DMP said the drives were conducted across different parts of the capital as part of efforts to maintain public order, prevent crime and curb drug-related activities. Legal action has been taken at the respective police stations over the seized weapons, drugs and other evidence.