1,309 firearms looted on 5 August still missing

Two years after the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August 2024, law enforcers are still searching for 1,309 firearms looted from police stations, outposts, police boxes and other law enforcement facilities during attacks, vandalism and arson that day.

According to the Police Headquarters data, 4,454 looted firearms had been recovered as of 26 August 2026, while 1,309 remained missing. Police also recovered 394,895 rounds of ammunition, but the whereabouts of another 257,113 rounds remain unknown.

Additional Inspector General (Crime and Operations) Khondoker Rafiqul Islam told TBS that operations to recover the weapons and ammunition are continuing.

"Although the recovery is slow, looted firearms are still being recovered from time to time," he said.

Concern over the large number of unrecovered weapons has prompted the government to launch a fresh initiative.

On 29 August, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said a specialised unit had been formed involving several intelligence agencies to recover looted and illegal firearms and it has started operations.

The government has also announced financial rewards for information leading to the recovery of weapons. Informants will receive up to Tk2 lakh for information on heavy weapons, Tk50,000 for pistols, revolvers and shotguns, and Tk10,000-Tk20,000 for other looted firearms, tear-gas shells and sound grenades. Their identities will be kept confidential.

The continued presence of the weapons is particularly concerning because investigations have found that some looted firearms were used in killings, robbery and other crimes.

On 26 August, police recovered a 9mm pistol used by alleged criminal Mobarak Hossain, alias Golakata Mobarak, to fire at police during an arrest operation in Chattogram. Police confirmed that the pistol had been looted from Kotwali Police Station in Chattogram on 5 August.

During preliminary interrogation, Mobarak admitted that he obtained the weapon through another criminal. With its recovery, the number of looted firearms recovered rose to 4,454.

Police records show that the looted weapons included 1,114 China rifles, 253 China SMGs, 34 LMGs, 539 7.62mm pistols, 1,092 9mm pistols and 2,079 12-bore shotguns, among others.

The unrecovered weapons include 109 China rifles, 30 China SMGs, three LMGs, 203 7.62mm pistols, 442 9mm pistols, 384 12-bore shotguns, 128 gas guns, seven 38mm tear-gas launchers and two signal pistols.

Large quantities of bullets, tear-gas shells, grenades, sound grenades, smoke grenades and flashbang grenades were also looted.

The then interim government had set 3 September 2024 as the deadline for returning the looted weapons. After many weapons remained unreturned, joint operations began on 4 September. Within nine days, police recovered 144 firearms and arrested 64 people.

Police officials say some weapons were taken by criminals, while others may have been abandoned or later handed over by people who took them amid the unrest.

However, authorities still do not have a complete picture of who possesses the remaining 1,309 firearms, where they are or whether any have crossed the border.

Police Headquarters has also yet to publish a comprehensive facility-wise breakdown showing which weapons were looted from which installations and which police units or members they had been assigned to.

Contacted, the home minister told TBS that weapons not returned within the stipulated period would be considered illegal and cases had been filed against those responsible. 

Regarding weapons that may have crossed international borders, he said Bangladesh could not conduct operations inside another country but would recover those found within the country.

In Chattogram alone, 944 firearms and 86,478 rounds of ammunition were looted from 29 police facilities, including eight metropolitan police stations. Of those firearms, 797 have been recovered, leaving 147 still missing.

Recent recoveries show how long the weapons can remain hidden. In July 2026, police recovered two 9mm pistols looted from Double Mooring Police Station. In August, a fisherman in Narayanganj's Araihazar found a shotgun in his fishing net, which police later identified as a weapon looted from Araihazar Police Station.

Several recovered weapons have also been linked to crimes. A pistol used to kill a woman, whose body was found on the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway service lane in November 2024, was traced to a weapon looted from Wari Police Station.

Police also found evidence that constable Md Riyad was involved in selling looted firearms. He and five others were arrested in March 2025, and Riyad was later suspended.

AHM Shahadat Hossain, assistant inspector general (media) at Police Headquarters, said operations were continuing to recover the remaining weapons and ammunition. 

Police were also monitoring the situation to prevent the looted firearms from being used to worsen law and order, he added.