Arms factory busted in Rohingya camp, 3 held

Rapid Action Battalion has claimed to have busted a firearms-making factory at a Rohingya camp located in a remote hilly area of Ukhiya upazila in Cox's Bazar.

The elite police unit apprehended three Rohingya men and seized 10 firearms along with equipment used for manufacturing firearms during a drive on Monday.

Confirming the matter, RAB-15 Commanding Officer Lt Col Khairul Islam said they acted on a tip-off that a syndicate had been manufacturing arms and ammunition setting up the factory at Block X-4 in Kutupalong Rohingya camp and supplying those to criminal groups.

“The battalion launched a drive in the early hours of Monday and took control of the factory after a four-hour gunfight,” he said.

RAB members detained Baitullah, 19, and his brother Habibullah, 32, residents of Block C-1, and Mohammad Hasun, 24, of Block G in Kutupalong camp, during the raid.

They also seized five pistols, five guns and firearms-making equipment from the factory, the RAB official said.

The detainees will be handed over to Ukhiya police station, he added.