Arakan News Agency | Exclusive
On Tuesday, security forces in Bangladesh arrested the leader of a criminal armed gang involved in numerous crimes in Rohingya camps in the Cox’s Bazar area.
An Arakan News Agency correspondent reported that the criminal named “Shohfi” led an armed gang that was involved in murder, kidnapping, rape, and drug trafficking. He was apprehended during a special security operation by the Bangladeshi Rapid Action Battalion.
Sources confirmed that large quantities of weapons and ammunition were seized during the security operation, and several Rohingya refugees in the camps expressed their great happiness at the news of the arrest of the criminal whose gang committed serious crimes in the camps.
A Rohingya refugee in Malaysia told the Arakan News Agency that the criminal known as “Shohfi” was responsible for killing her father after kidnapping him during her family’s stay in the camps and demanded a large ransom they could not pay.
The refugee added that her family was forced to flee to Malaysia after the incident that occurred four years ago, noting that many Rohingya women fled to Malaysia after being sexually assaulted by members of his armed group.
An officer from the Bangladeshi unit responsible for apprehending the criminal confirmed that “Shohfi” faces 21 criminal cases, including murder. Sources confirmed that there are two active gangs in the camps, with “Shohfi” leading one and a person named “Alom” leading the other. The two gangs have been involved in kidnapping and killing hundreds of Rohingyas over the past decade.
Kidnapping and murder incidents of Rohingya refugees are widespread in the camps amidst deteriorating security conditions. Three Rohingya refugees were abducted in Bangladeshi camps this month by an armed group, and two other Rohingya refugees were kidnapped by fake policemen.
More than a million Rohingya refugees, fleeing violence and persecution in Myanmar since the “genocide” campaign launched by the Myanmar military against them in 2017, reside in the Cox’s Bazar area of Bangladesh, which the United Nations describes as the largest refugee camp in the world.
