A dramatic robbery and supersonic recovery!

It was Thursday morning, just half past seven. 

A microbus of Money Plant Link Private Limited, the security agency for Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited (DBBL), was driving down a road in Turag area in the capital's Uttara.

The logo of the security agency emblazoned on the side of the vehicle and the security grilles on each window gave an idea of what the vehicle was carrying. Today, it was Tk11.25 crore, which was meant to be delivered to DBBL's booths in Ashulia and Savar.

Just as the vehicle reached Metro Rail Station-2 near the River Turag, a black HiAce microbus blocked its path. 

In the blink of an eye, 10-12 men jumped out of the intercepting vehicle and waylaid the security agency's microbus.

Disguising themselves as Detective Branch (DB) officials, the men pulled off the microbus door and demanded the money being carried.

The security agency's manager, supervisor, two guards and the driver heeded to the demand, although the men threatening them did not brandish any weapons. 

The security agency also did not have any armed guards, so they meekly surrendered all the money stashed in four trunks.

The trunks were transferred to the black HiAce and the robbers sped away.

The victims then made a complaint to the police by calling the emergency number, 999.

Then, the mystery began to unravel.

The search and the find

According to police, the security agency had not even informed any law enforcement agency about the transportation of large amounts of cash in such a risky way.

But around eight hours after the dramatic robbery, the real DB officials tracked the robbers' vehicle down in the capital's Khilkhet area and recovered around Tk9 crore.

Seven people, including two directors of Money Plant Link, were detained over the incident.

"We recovered around Tk9 crore from three trunks and seized a vehicle from Khilkhet. Operations are underway to recover the rest," Dhaka Metropolitan Police Detective Branch Chief Harun Or Rashid said while briefing reporters in the evening at Khilkhet.

"It's a planned incident. We will see why the Money Plant officials let the robbers take away the money so easily. They were following Money Plant's vehicles for a long time. Unfortunately, Money Plant officials were not carrying any arms.

"We got some names. After interrogating the detainees, including two directors of the private security agency, we will unearth the incident," the DB chief said.

"The incident took place in Dhaka's Turag area around 7:30am as officials of Money Plant were heading toward Ashulia EPZ on a microbus from Mirpur DOHS, with Tk11.25 crore in four trunks, to refill DBBL auto-teller machines in the Ashulia EPZ area," Morshed Alam, deputy commissioner of DMP's Uttara Division, told reporters at his office.

"The door of the vehicle was so fragile that the robbers pulled it out. They forced four of them, including the driver, to get off the vehicle. They drove it ahead for some yards, moved the four trunks into the black microbus and fled the scene," the police official said, adding that the Money Plant's officials then sought help from police through 999.

"The microbus used for robbery carried a fake number plate," he said and added that Money Plant could have taken security from the DMP. 

The official noted that they initially identified the robbers' vehicle with footage captured by a private car camera before locating the black microbus in the Khilkhet area around 3:45pm.

"The driver [of robbers' car] told DB that he dropped the robbers in the 300 Feet area and got his portion, one trunk of robbed money.

The microbus was rented from the Tongi area," said Mirpur DB Additional Deputy Commissioner Saiful Islam.

Till filing the report, a case was being filed with the Turag police station.

"There were five people inside our vehicle including the driver. Robbers held them, assaulted the driver and drove away with their microbus towards Ashulia highway," Joshoda Jibon Debnath, managing director of Money Plant Link Private Limited told TBS.

"I found high officials of police quite cordial and active while dealing with our case," he said adding, "Even the Police Bureau of Investigation and the Detective Branch contacted me and assured me they are on high alert," he added.

Abul Kashem Md Shirin, managing director of Dutch-Bangla Bank, said the bank appointed a third party to carry the cash to refill the ATMs of the bank in Savar. "The bank and the third-party company will not face losses as the funds were insured," he said.