Police bust cartel of bicycle thieves in Chittagong that uses children for Biryani, video games

Police have busted a cartel of bicycle thieves in Chittagong that has allegedly pulled off over a 100 heists in the port city over the last six months using children to do the dirty work for them.

The syndicate is run by Suman Acharya, owner of Cycle Mela in Sadarghat, his brother Sujan Acharya, 27, Saiful Islam, 25, a worker of Cycle Mart, ‘Rony’, a rickshaw puller who lived in Battery Gali.

They would target the bicycles to be stolen, direct the children aged between 9 and 13 years to do the stealing, and sell off the stolen merchandise.

Police picked up Sujan and Saiful on Saturday night by raiding Sadarghat after finding out about the syndicate, Kotwali police SI Pritom Sarkar told bdnews24.com

They also recovered six cycles from Sujan’s residence on Patharghata’s Ashraf Ali Road.

Locals caught a 9-year-old child red-handed during a stealing attempt near Didar Market on Saturday and handed him to police, Sub-Inspector Mohammed Ilias told bdnews24.com.

“Another three children were picked up based on what he told us,” he said.

The four, all of whom lived in Damparha, were used by the syndicate to steal the bicycles and would get Tk 300-500 per merchandise.

bdnews24.com found the four sitting in the office of Kotwali police Inspector Nezam Uddin.

When asked what they did with the money, the children said they would buy Biryani from GEC Intersection and then play games at the video arcade. 

They also said they stole over a hundred cycles from around the port city over the last six months.

Rony would inform them if he saw any cycle during his trips around the city and take them there. After they made it back with the cycle, he would take it to Sadarghat and sell them off to Suman.

Uddin said the children were all aged between 9 and 13 years and will be sent to the juvenile correction centre under the social welfare department.

Sujan and Saiful were sent to court on Sunday.

SI Sarkar said, “Suman and Rony fled after finding out that the children were caught.”