Stolen Police Arsenals and Escaped Convicts Fuel Security Concerns in Bangladesh
Photo Collected
Months after the July 2024 mass uprising that led to the collapse of the Awami League government, authorities are grappling with the persistent threat of missing state-issued weaponry and escaped prisoners. The discovery of a shotgun in a fisherman’s net in Narayanganj’s Araihazar earlier this week confirmed the weapon had been looted from a local police station, underscoring the ongoing challenge of recovering thousands of firearms still circulating in the hands of criminal elements.
According to data from Police Headquarters, the chaos surrounding the political transition resulted in the theft of 5,763 firearms and over 650,000 rounds of ammunition from police stations and outposts nationwide. While a joint recovery operation launched in September 2024 has successfully retrieved 4,445 firearms and the majority of the stolen munitions by July 2025, more than 1,300 weapons and over 257,000 rounds of ammunition remain unaccounted for.
The proliferation of these stolen weapons has directly impacted public safety, with investigators documenting their use in robberies, extortion, and targeted killings. In a particularly concerning development, internal probes have revealed the involvement of law enforcement personnel in the black-market sale of these arms. One notable case involved a police constable who was arrested and subsequently dismissed for his role in brokering the sale of a pistol stolen from a Chittagong police station, which was later utilized in a violent confrontation.
The crisis extends to the nation’s correctional facilities, where mass unrest during the uprising led to the escape of 2,240 prisoners. Prison authorities report that 683 of these individuals remain at large. Among those still evading capture are 60 death-row convicts and nine militants, whom officials classify as high-risk. While authorities emphasize that efforts to recapture fugitives and recover stolen weaponry continue, the presence of dangerous criminals and heavy arms in the community continues to exert significant pressure on the country’s law and order framework.
Despite these challenges, police and prison officials maintain that the situation is being managed. Khondkar Rafiqul Islam, Additional Inspector General of Police for Crime and Operations, stated that recovery operations remain ongoing and dismissed concerns that the remaining cache of stolen weapons poses an imminent threat to national stability. Similarly, Prison Inspector General Brigadier General Syed Md. Motahar Hossain asserted that prison security remains intact, even as he acknowledged the broader security risks posed by the escaped convicts and the remaining missing arsenal.
0%
0%
0%
0%
