Police yesterday arrested five members of an inter-district robbery gang in connection with a robbery of Tk 26.22 lakh from a businessman in Dhaka's Kakrail area on December 4.

The arrestees are Sajjad Hossain, 35, Kabir Hossain, 50, Md Sharif, 25, Monir Hossain, 40, and Habibur Khondkar, 38.

The robbers posed as members of Rab during the heist.

A white microbus and eight phones were recovered from them, police said.

Around 4:30pm on December 4, 10-12 individuals boarded a bus at Kakrail intersection in which victim Saiful Islam, 38, was carrying the money.

Identifying themselves as Rab members the robbers forcibly dragged Saiful, 38, off the bus into a white microbus.

One wore a jacket labelled "Rab" and carried handcuffs and a walkie-talkie.

Saiful, deputy managing director of Trasmic Company Ltd, was heading to his Badda home in the bus after collecting Tk 26.12 lakh in cash from a jewellery store in Tantibazar, said Muhammad Talebur Rahman, deputy commissioner (media and public relations) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

Inside the microbus, the gang tied Saiful's hands, physically assaulted him, and gave death threats. They forcibly took the cash, his phone, wallet containing Tk 10,000, a wristwatch and other belongings before leaving him blindfolded and tied up on a Demra street.

Saiful filed a case with Ramna Model Police Station on December 11.

Police traced the microbus used in the crime at ECB Chattar in the city on Thursday and arrested its driver Kabir.

Following Kabir's confession, police later conducted a raid in Bangshal area and arrested four others with eight phones used in the crime.

Talebur said drives are on to recover the stolen items and apprehend the other fugitive members of the gang.