Outgoing Director General (DG) of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun has said that the elite force has established itself as a role model of law enforcement in the country and in the global arena.

“Rab force has achieved trust and confidence of the people of the country due to its members’ competency and bravery,” the DG said during a view exchange meeting with journalists on Wednesday.

During the meeting, the Rab DG highlighted many success of the force that have been achieved during his tenure.

“The government has zero-tolerance- policy against terrorism. During my tenure, Rab detained around 800 terrorists of different organizations. After taking over as Rab chief, I started a rehabilitation program for the militants. Under this de-radicalization and rehabilitation programme, nine militants surrendered and returned to normal lives in 2021,” said Chowdhury.

The DG added that the Sundarbans has become robber-free due to drives conducted by Rab.

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“Under my command, the Sundarbans became safe through the surrender of 328 robbers from 32 robbery gangs. On the third anniversary of making the forest robber-free, Rab distributed fishing nets, engine boats, domestic animals, shops and houses among these people so that they can lead a normal life and earn their livelihoods in a legal way,” he added.

The DG mentioned that besides the Sundarbans, Rab also secured Chattogram’s Banshkhali and Cox’s Bazar’s Maheshkhali and Kutubdia coasts as drives conducted by the elite force resulted into the surrender of 77 robbers  from 12 robbers gangs in 2020.

Besides terrorism and robbery, the Rab DG also talked about the force’s contributions in dealing with the drugs issue.

“ I took initiatives to close the routes and channels of drugs movement alongside detaining the drug dealers. Around 36,000 drug traders and dealers were detained and drugs worth Tk 2,300 crore were seized by Rab during my time,” said the Rab DG.