The police have arrested Enamul Haque Enu and his brother Rupon Bhuiyan over their alleged involvement with casino business.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested the brothers from Dhaka’s Keraniganj on Monday (Jan 20).

Law enforcers detained them with Tk 4 million that they were going to use to escape to Nepal through India and 12 mobile phones, said CID Organised Crime Division Deputy Inspector General Imtiaz Ahmed.

“We arrested them from an associate’s house,” he said before adding that there are four money laundering cases against them.

He said the brothers have 22 plots and buildings to their name, most of which are around Old Dhaka.

“They have Tk 190 million in 91 bank accounts across the country and five personal cars,” he said.

Imtiaz said that Tk 50 million seized from their home was black money that they intended to launder abroad.

 “We came to know that these two started the casino business in Bangladesh and brought the equipment from Nepal.”

Enamul is the vice-president of Awami League’s Gandaria unit and Rupon is the same unit’s joint general secretary.

Both Enamul and Rupon were allegedly involved in the illegal casino operations at the Dhaka Wanderers’ Club, which was busted and sealed by RAB amid a crackdown against gambling dens in sports clubs in September last year.

The same month RAB raided their and houses in Sutrapur and Narinda areas in Dhaka.

During the raids, the elite force seized a little over Tk 50 million in cash, around 720 bhori of gold jewelleries worth over Tk 40 million, and six firearms — all of which were kept in five safes in those houses.

According to RAB, Enamul and Rupon own the money, gold and firearms. Enamul had bought the gold jewelleries as the safes had no space left to keep the money he received from the illegal casino operation.

These raids and seizure came hot on the heels of the crackdown on illegal casinos and gambling establishments in the capital and elsewhere that started last week.