More than 100 pirates along with a number firearm artisans are likely to surrender by handing over their firearms to the Home Minister at Moheshkhali in Cox's Bazaar on Saturday.
Cox's Bazaar district police is implementing the process of surrender of those pirates. Police also served stern warning to those pirates who are yet to lay down their arms and surrender to the law enforcement agency members.
It is learnt, Moheshkhli, surrounded by sea and hills, remained a safe haven for pirates and terrorists for a long time. Various remote caves in the hills were being used as factories for the production of fire arms and sophisticated weapons for a long time.
According to some senior people of Moheshkhali, there were more than 100 fire arms and weapons production factories in the hills of Moheshkhlai but now the number has been decreased. Top terror Ershad Shikder is learnt to procure his fire arms from Moheshkhali.
Weapons produced in Moheshkhali were also being supplied and used by various terrorist groups of throughout the country.
Due to repeated operations conducted by the police and other law enforcement agency members, the pirates, fire-arms producers and the terrorists of Moheshkhali are now facing a bad-time. A huge cache of fire arms including sophisticate weapons were recovered by the law enforcement agency members from Moheshkhali during Operation Clean Heart. Members of Naval forces recovered more than 4,000 illegal weapons from Moheshkhali during that period.
Moheshkhali region has been ravaged by the menace of pirates for a long time. Committing of dacoity at the trawlers in the sea, killing of sailors and fishermen were regular incidents of Moheshkhhali. Often these pirates abducted the sailors and realised a handsome anount of ransom from them. There is even the tragic incident of killing 14-sailors and fishermen and dumping their dead bodies inside a cold storage by the pirates.
Iqbal Hossain, Additional Superintendent of Police of Cox's Bazaar informed, for the first time some fire-arms artisans along with the pirates are likely to surrender. he added, earlier 102 Yaba peddlers at Teknaf and 43 pirates at Moheshkhali-Kutubdia surrendered.
ABM Masud Hossain, Superintendent of Police of Cox's Bazaar informed, in presence of the Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, more than one hundred pirates including the artisan and master-crafts of fire-arms belonged to 17K Groups are likely to surrender at the play ground of Kalmarchhara Government Primary School on Saturday next. All are set to arrange the surrender process, he added.
The groups of who are likely to surrender have been identified as Ayub group, Zia group, Mujib group, Kala Zahangir group and Siraj Uddowla group. Serving staunch warning to those who will not surrender, SP said, a special crackdown at Parabon and at Kutubdia will be launched against the pirates and the terrorists soon after the process of surrender is finished.
Ayub, leader of the Ayub group informed, it was an opportunity for the outlawed like us to return to the normal life by taking the clemency of the government. So far we stayed concealed in the hills and on the sea but now we want to return to our wives and sons to lead a normal life.
Akram Hossain, journalist of a television who mediate the process of surrender, informed, he worked to end violence in the region and to bring back those misleading people to the sound, normal track.
Lieutenant Colonel (retd.) Forkan Ahmed, Security Analyst, informed the process of surrender is undoubtedly a good job. It will play a vital role in returning peace as well as resisting internal terrorism in the seashore.
