Armed Member of Infamous ‘Wrist-Chopper’ Gang Arrested in Dhaka

A suspected member of Dhaka’s notorious “Kobji Kata” (Wrist-Chopper) street gang has been apprehended during a targeted law enforcement operation in the capital’s Mohammadpur enclave. The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) executed the raid, recovering sharp domestic weapons from the detainee’s possession.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Niaz Mehedi of the DMP’s Media and Public Relations Division officially confirmed the development on Sunday, 12 July 2026.

The breakthrough occurred late on Saturday evening, 11 July, at approximately 9:00 pm. Acting on precise intelligence mapping local gang networks, a specialised operational team from the CTTC’s City Intelligence Analysis Division launched a raid in the Shekhertek neighbourhood of Mohammadpur. During the dragnet, officers cornered and detained the suspect, identified as 28-year-old Shahidul Islam Apon. A thorough search of his person yielded a meat cleaver (chapatti) and a mechanical switchblade, weapons frequently utilised by local syndicates to terrorise residents and execute swift violent robberies.

The Mohammadpur and Adabar precincts have long been hotspots for juvenile delinquency and gang culture, with various factions fighting over territorial control, extortion rights, and local narcotics distribution. The “Kobji Kata” group, in particular, earned its fearsome moniker through a signature method of extreme violence—severing the wrists or tendons of victims who resist robberies or belong to rival factions. This aggressive enforcement mechanism has turned the group into a primary focus for specialized units like the CTTC, which traditionally handles transnational threats but increasingly intervenes in high-intensity urban criminality.

DMP records indicate that Apon is a habitual offender with an established criminal record. He was already named as a principal accused in a prior case filed with the nearby Adabar Police Station. Authorities revealed that he had been evading law enforcement surveillance while continuing to coordinate local gang activities in the Shekhertek area.

Following his arrest, the suspect was transferred to police custody for formal processing. Senior officials confirmed that subsequent legal proceedings are currently underway, with investigators preparing to present him before the metropolitan magistrate’s court to seek formal detention pending a full trial. Meanwhile, the CTTC is leveraging intelligence gathered from the raid to track down other high-ranking operators within the gang’s hierarchy.