Two of Dhaka’s most densely populated informal settlements-Geneva Camp and Pallabi Bihari Camp-have rapidly transformed into the capital’s most volatile underworld hubs. Field investigations and intelligence reports reveal that these camps now host a heavily armed criminal ecosystem that is expanding under the cover of political turmoil and, according to investigators, benefiting from high-level political patronage. What is unfolding inside these enclaves poses a grave threat to public safety and to the stability of the capital.

Over the past year, the two camps have evolved into strongholds for armed groups, drug syndicates, extortion rings, and teenage gangs. Illegal stockpiles of weapons, active bomb-making factories, and near-daily shootouts have turned life into a nightmare for thousands of ordinary residents caught in the middle.

According to multiple intelligence agencies, the turning point came during the political unrest of July–August last year, when violent mobs looted weapons from police stations and outposts across Dhaka. A substantial portion of those seized arms-including LMGs, SMGs, Chinese rifles, pistols, and shotguns-was later transported into the Bihari camps.

After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, several high-profile criminals resurfaced and took refuge in these settlements, rebuilding their networks in partnership with local gangs. Since then, the camps have become the most dangerous crime zones in Dhaka-areas where heavily armed groups now operate openly and where looted government weapons are stockpiled with impunity.

Investigators warn that the camps are functioning as semi-autonomous criminal enclaves, shielded from police operations due to........

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