Curiosity grows over German made G3 rifle found in Chattogram
Graphics: Agamir Somoy
The recovery of a German made military grade G3 series rifle abandoned in Chattogram has sparked widespread curiosity and discussion among law enforcement agencies. The recovered weapon is quite old and is no longer highly functional. Even so, investigators are concerned that more such heavy military weapons could still be in the hands of the underworld.
Retired Major Emdadul Islam, former Head of Mission at the Bangladesh Consulate in Myanmar, believes the firearm may have been smuggled into Bangladesh through the border from the Arakan Army, an armed group operating in Myanmar. Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Hafizur Rahman, commander of RAB’s Chattogram Zone, also believes the weapon entered Bangladesh illegally through the border several years ago.
According to a retired Assistant Superintendent of Police who worked on domestic armed groups and the underworld, a German made G3 rifle was recovered from notorious criminal Bidhan Barua in 2011. No similar weapon has been seen or recovered during the past 15 years.
The retired police officer believes the recently recovered rifle may have belonged to one of the armed groups in the Chattogram Hill Tracts or Rohingya insurgents before eventually reaching a notorious criminal network.
On the morning of June 24, RAB recovered the weapon from an abandoned location near Feda Pukur Par in the Hajir Pul area under Chandgaon Police Station in Chattogram city. In a statement, RAB 7 Assistant Director ASP A R M Mozaffar Hossain said the rifle was found without its buttstock and magazine on a vacant walled property belonging to a man named Jalil. Acting on a tip, RAB recovered the weapon and handed it over to Chandgaon Police Station.
Officer in Charge Mohammad Jasim Uddin of Chandgaon Police Station said RAB has taken over the investigation of the case filed under the Arms Act.
German company Heckler and Koch developed the rifle during the 1950s as a battle rifle. It is widely known for its destructive capability and precision. The powerful weapon can fire between 500 and 600 rounds per minute. It is capable of striking targets nearly one kilometer away and can also function in roles similar to a sniper rifle or machine gun. Information indicates that armed forces in about 70 countries use the rifle because of its effective range.
However, retired military officer Emdadul Islam said no state force in South Asia currently uses the weapon.
He said, “India, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan, none of these countries commonly use this weapon. The G3 rifle is not more lethal than the Chinese made 7.62 bore weapons used by various forces in our country. It is used as a sniper rifle. However, sniper roles are now performed using various other sources.”
“So why is there so much curiosity about it? The curiosity has emerged because a weapon that is not used in the Indian subcontinent or in this region was suddenly recovered in an abandoned condition. Where did it come from, how did it get here, and who supplied it? It is only natural to be curious,” Emdadul Islam said.
RAB officer Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Hafizur Rahman said, “Our neighboring countries neither manufacture nor use G3 rifles. Bangladesh Ordnance Factories once produced G3 rifles, but their use has since been reduced. The rifle we recovered is completely different from those. None of the law enforcement agencies, including the police and RAB, use weapons of this caliber. They are not imported officially either.”
The Bangladesh Myanmar border stretches for nearly 270 kilometers. About 80 percent of Myanmar’s Maungdaw Township in Rakhine State has remained under the control of the armed rebel group Arakan Army for the past one and a half years.
Retired Major Emdadul Islam, former Head of Mission at the Bangladesh Consulate in Myanmar, analyzed the situation, saying, “After the Arakan Army took control, the junta forces blocked three internal supply routes into Rakhine. As a result, the Arakan Army has been facing severe shortages of money and essential goods. Weapons like these reach the Arakan Army from Myanmar’s Kayin State through Chin State. They have now become desperate for money. I believe they sold these weapons across the border to an organized criminal group in Bangladesh.”
RAB officials said an investigation has begun into how the firearm reached Chattogram and whether any domestic organized crime group or international network was involved. Efforts are underway to identify the weapon’s origin, batch number, and ownership.
RAB officer Hafizur said, “Smuggling takes place across the borders of every country in the world. Despite the best efforts of border guards, our border is not completely free from smuggling. Somehow the weapon entered the country through the border.”
A retired ASP who served with Chattogram Metropolitan Police and the district police said, “It has a long range. It is a heavy weapon. That is why armed groups in the Chattogram Hill Tracts used this weapon extensively. Rohingya militants also had such weapons. It was also used in the country’s underworld. It came through the border. That can be said with reasonable certainty.”
