Vehicle thefts soar in the capital

At least 10 gangs are behind vehicle theft in the capital, with more than one vehicle being stolen every day, according to sources in the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).
The gangs have long been active in the megacity even after continuous drives against them, said the sources.
DMP data shows that police stations under it recorded 175 cases of motor vehicle theft in the last five months from January to May.
During the same period last year, 167 such cases were lodged with the police stations, showing a surge in this type of crime.
The DB sources said every gang has around 10–30 members on average. The members of these gangs, mainly their ringleaders, are wanted in several cases.
Many of them have been arrested multiple times but continue their activities after being released on bail, the sources said.
Two of the ringleaders are Abul Kalam Azad, a resident of Bakerganj in Barishal, who is wanted in around 50 cases, and Jasim Uddin, a resident of Shibchar in Madaripur, who is wanted in 13 cases.
On 16 June this year, a private car was stolen from a garage in Block G, Shah Ali. 
The car’s owner later filed a case with Shah Ali Police Station. Following the case, police recovered the vehicle from Kotwali in Rangpur on 19 June and arrested Jalil Mia, 29, on theft charges, said Niaz Mehedi Hasan, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Media) of the DMP.
On 10 January, a motorcycle belonging to Assistant Sub-Inspector Md Firoj was stolen from inside Vatara Police Station. Police later recovered it and arrested four men from Bancharampur in Brahmanbaria on 20 January, Vatara police said.
Despite such successes, there are also many instances of failure.
An unknown thief stole a new motorcycle belonging to Anis Howlader from Demra in the capital in 2022. He filed a case over the theft with Demra Police Station a few days after the incident.
Anis told the Daily Sun that he provided CCTV footage of the incident to the police, but they have so far been unable to either recover the bike or arrest the thief.
Akhter Hossain, a resident of Kadamtali, said his nephew’s motorcycle was stolen from a house in the area in 2023. A case was filed with Kadamtali Police Station, but the bike has yet to be recovered.
The DB sources said that after stealing vehicles, the criminals mainly take them to different districts, where they sell them at cheaper rates to traders dealing in stolen vehicles, as well as to various individuals.
According to the DMP, in the 13 months from January 2025 to January this year, it recorded about 400 vehicle theft cases. Of these, 332 accused were arrested and 228 vehicles were recovered.
Additional Commissioner (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, Md Shafiqul Islam, told the Daily Sun that they are continuously conducting drives against the thieves. 
“Even two days ago, we recovered two stolen private cars,” he said.
Responding to a question about the failure or delay in recovering many of them, he said the vehicles are mainly dismantled into parts, which creates obstacles.