An explosive investigation reveals how a criminal gang is colluding with the security forces of Bangladesh and has links to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Undercover reporters with the I-Unit expose how a former street mafia claims to have captured a state. Haris Ahmed, brother of Bangladesh’s army chief, Aziz Ahmed, boasts that he can use police and paramilitary units to abduct rivals and earn millions in bribes.

Documents obtained by the I-Unit also show that head of the army has helped a convicted killer evade justice. And how the country’s military intelligence service has secretly bought spyware from Israel – a country that Bangladesh does not recognise – that can monitor the prime minister’s political rivals.

The I-Unit invited all those involved in this investigation to respond to our findings. They included Bangladesh’s Prime Minister, Home Minister, Inspector General, Police Commissioner and all four Ahmed Brothers.

After the release of the investigation, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement describing our findings as a “smear campaign” that was orchestrated by opponents of the regime based abroad.

It dismissed statements made by the brother of Bangladesh’s Chief of Army Staff as baseless and said Haris Ahmed had no links to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina or any other state institution.