Malibagh mall burglary was a planned heist

For nearly three months, a gang quietly watched, calculated, and waited for the right time to strike at Sompa Jewellers in Fortune Shopping Complex in Dhaka's Malibagh. When the night of October 8 arrived, they executed their plan with almost cinematic precision, detectives of Dhaka Metropolitan Police said yesterday.

During a press briefing at the DMP Media Centre, Md Shafiqul Islam, additional commissioner (detective branch) of DMP, said four members of the gang had been arrested after a 72-hour drive across several districts.

One of them had earlier tied a thin string to the bathroom window of the market during the day. After nightfall, they returned, used that string to pull up a thick rope, climbed to the second floor, broke the window, and entered the building.

Hidden inside the bathroom were burqas and burglary tools, stashed there days earlier. Disguised and prepared, the burglars broke into Sompa Jewellers and made away with gold worth crores.

The detectives disclosed the findings after claiming to have finally cracked the case.

The arrestees are Shahin Matbar alias Shahin, 46; Nurul Islam, 33; Uttam Chandra Sur, 49; and Anita Roy, 31.

Police recovered 190 tolas of gold, some silver, a motorcycle, and Tk 1,77,200 in cash.

Shafiqul said Shahin was first caught in Chattogram, followed by two others in Barishal and one in Dhaka.

According to police, the gang was not new to such crimes. In 2021, they were involved in another gold theft at Chattogram's Karnaphuli Market. After securing bail, they returned to the same trade.

The shop owner claimed that around 500 tolas of gold were stolen, but police have so far recovered 190 tolas. "One suspect is still absconding. We hope to trace the rest of the gold once he is caught," said the DB chief.

Detectives said the recovered gold had not yet been sold, though some had been melted with the shop's tags still attached.