Bangladesh Coast Guard has rescued five fishermen held hostage after raiding a hideout used by the Sattar gang in the Sundarbans.
Officers recovered four locally made single-shot guns, six live rounds and 13 spent cartridges that suspected pirates left behind.
In a separate operation elsewhere in the Sundarbans on the same day, the Coast Guard seized more firearms and ammunition. No one was arrested in either operation because the suspects fled.
The Coast Guard conducted the first raid in the Gandhar canal area of the Arshipsha River at 4 a.m. on Tuesday and rescued the five fishermen from the gang’s hideout.
The suspects fled deeper into the forest after detecting the Coast Guard’s presence. Officers later found the four single-shot guns, six live rounds and 13 spent cartridges in a dinghy.
The rescued fishermen were Jahurul Islam, 27; Faruk Gazi, 42; Rezaul Karim, 26; Nurul Huda, 23; and Hasan Gazi, 27. All are residents of Koyra Police Station area in Khulna.
At 11 a.m. the same day, the Coast Guard recovered four single-barrel guns, one 0.22-caliber gun, 20 live rounds, 52 rounds of 0.22-caliber ammunition and two magazines from Kumrokhali in the Sundarbans.
Lt Mir Akib Mostafiz, executive officer of BCGS Tawhid, provided the information.
Coast Guard media officer Lt Cdr Sabbir Alam Sujan said special drives named Operation Restore Peace in Sundarbans and Operation Mangrove Shield were under way to eliminate forest pirate groups and strengthen coastal security.
The Coast Guard said arrangements were being made to return the fishermen to their families.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report