They also arrested gang leader Rafiqul Islam, 42, son of Abul Quasem Sarkar of Chhaihissa. He offered the Rab members Tk 10 lakh as bribe, Lt Col Kazi Shamsher Uddin, commander of RAB-11, told the media on Friday afternoon.
A Rab team conducted a special drive at Chhaihissa and recovered 220 drums of stolen oil worth Tk 21 lakh. They also seized three trawlers from there.
Rafiqul, leader of the gang that stole the oil, tried to bribe Rab members to let him go. “He was arrested along with the money,” he said.
During primary interrogation, Rafiqul admitted that he and his gang members had been stealing palm oil from ships that pass through the area for a long period.
They later sell it to different oil traders in Dhaka and Narayanganj, said Shamsher.