One arrested, bombs recovered after police raid at Savar house

The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested an individual and recovered bombs and bomb-like objects from his position after an operation at a house in Dhaka’s Savar area on late Tuesday.

The operation was carried out at a three-storey house in South Shyampur area of the upazila, with members from Savar Model Police Station also taking part in the raid.

Police said a man was arrested with bombs and a large quantity of bomb-making materials during the raid.

Speaking to reporters at around 10:45pm, Savar Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Saiful Alam said a CTTC team had received information that members of the banned militant group Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were staying in the area with explosives.

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Based on the information, police detained a man from Hemayetpur and recovered bombs and other explosive materials from his possession. The subsequent operation at the house was launched based on information provided by the detainee, the OC said.

Saiful Alam said the suspect had rented a room in the house on 1 August. Police, along with a bomb disposal unit, cordoned off the building for security reasons and were conducting a search with the detainee.

According to the OC, five powerful, specially made pipe bombs were recovered from a bag carried by the suspect at the time of his arrest. Based on information provided by him, several more similar bombs and a large quantity of bomb-making equipment were subsequently recovered from a room on the ground floor of the house.

Ilma, daughter of house owner Abdul Jalil, told reporters that a man named Abbas Ali and another person had approached the family to rent the house, which was rented to them on 2 August.

“They probably started staying there from the night of 3 August. They said they would live there as a married couple and teach children at a nearby school. We rented it to them thinking they were a family. We had no idea they were hiding so many things inside,” she said.

She added that they had also told the family they worked as drivers.

The latest operation comes days after police recovered a specially made bomb from a travel bag left at a grocery shop in Ashulia, Savar, on 30 July. A bomb disposal team of the CTTC unit later safely neutralised the device.