Seven people, including a former Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) leader, were arrested with arms and ammunition in a joint operation in Sreepur upazila of Gazipur district on Wednesday night.
The arrestees are Enamul Haque Molla, a former leader of the upazila unit of JCD, his associates Shawkat Mir, Zahid, Mostofa, Siddiq, Bulbul and Tofazzal.
The joint force first conducted an operation at the house of Enamul in Barkul village and arrested him with some weapons.
Acting on his information, the law enforcers conducted drives in the village and adjacent areas and detained others with arms and ammunition.
The recovered arms include one pistol, three magazines, four bullets, four walkie-talkies, four bats, two electric shock devices, and a hammer nail gun.
Locals said Enamul had recently been campaigning in the Gazipur-3 constituency, putting up posters and holding rallies and meetings under the banner of a BNP unit president in Saudi Arabia, positioning himself as a potential nominee from the party.
Sub-inspector Md Junayed of Sreepur Police Station said the joint operation was carried out upon intelligence reports.
The detainees were handed over to police on Thursday morning, he said.
Gazipur-3 BNP candidate Prof Dr SM Rafiqul Islam Bachchu described Enamul as a ‘notorious terrorist,’ adding that he had been expelled from the BNP in 2001 for criminal activities and had fled the country.