Police have arrested 13 alleged snatchers, including two teenagers and a woman, in separate drives in Dhaka’s Mohammadpur area over the past 24 hours.

During the operations, police recovered three switchblade knives, two sharp knives, four metal rods, a saw blade and four stolen mobile phones.

Mohammadpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abdul Halim said one of the arrestees, Hasnain Hasan, is accused in at least six snatching cases filed in Mohammadpur, Dhanmondi and Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police stations.

According to police, the group targeted pedestrians, bus passengers, rickshaw passengers and relatives of patients at hospitals. They allegedly used weapons to intimidate victims or took advantage of women’s inattention to steal mobile phones, cash and other valuables.

Police said legal proceedings were underway against the arrestees and they would be sent to court.