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nine in Nilphamari, 39 in Lalmonirhat, 28 in Dinajpur, 44 in Panchagarh, 20 in Mymensingh, 15 in Jamalpur and seven in Sherpur.

“We do not think these linemen will be able to disrupt the election atmosphere,” said Syed Rafiqul Islam, superintendent of police in Jashore, adding that regular joint drives are being conducted.

There is always a trend of illegal firearms entering the country ahead of elections, said Ashraful Huda, a former Inspector General of Police.

“This election is going to be held in a special moment, so there are ‘enough reasons’ to believe some groups may try to disrupt the election, damage the process, or raise questions about it by bringing weapons into the country through the border.”

He stressed that Border Guard Bangladesh and police must remain highly alert and that people living in border areas should also stay vigilant.

Smuggling through the border is unremitting and cannot be denied, said Khondokar Rafiqul Islam, additional inspector general (crime and operations) of Police Headquarters.

Police cannot claim with certainty that arms do not enter the country and that it “may happen”.

However, he does not see any elevated threat given the way law enforcement agencies are deployed across the field.

One such drive by Border Guard Bangladesh, Battalion 47 nabbed Azizul Islam, 35, from Daulatpur in Kushtia on Sunday with a foreign and a local firearm. At least three linemen are active at that border.

Besides the firearms being smuggled in through the border, the previously stockpiled firearms, kept for extortion, turf control and contract killings, could resurface during the election as a large portion remains unrecovered, according to investigators and intelligence officials.