Author: Statesman News Service
Publication: The Statesman
Date: September 13, 2006
Two Bangladeshi nationals were arrested for their involvement in a motor-cycle theft racket late last night.
Acting on a tip-off, police picked up Jehangir Hossain (32) and Rafikul Hossain (38) from a hotel on Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road and recovered two stolen motorcycles from them.
During interrogations, police learnt that both Jehangir and Rafikul are residents of Jessore district in Bangladesh and used to frequently cross the international border near Bongaon in North 24-Parganas on a tourist visa. They used to stay in small hotels and spend most of their time identifying motorcycles parked outside offices in Park Street, Dalhousie and Esplanade areas.
“They were armed with a few gadgets that are used to break the locks of the motorcycles. With the help of these, they used to break the locks and shifted stolen motorcycles to a different parking lot. Late in the evening, they used to take these motorcycles out of the parking lot and transported them to an agent in Bongaon.
“He used to help them smuggle these motorcycles across to Bangladesh where they were sold off,” said an officer at Park Street police station.
Jehangir and Rafikul had smuggled more than 40 motorcycles through the border in just over a year. “Last evening, we were tipped-off about the Bangladeshi nationals. Following a raid at a hotel based on 59, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road, Jehangir and Rafikul were arrested. They later led us to two motorcycles that they had stolen yesterday. The gadgets used by them have been also seized,” said the officer.