dhaka • Rich and powerful Bangladeshis now being sought by corruption busters have started ditching their luxury cars and illegal pets to avoid being tracked down and caught, police said yesterday.

On Monday, police seized three Hummers from streets and abandoned parkings in and around the capital Dhaka, amidst a massive hunt by the army-backed interim government to arrest and punish corrupt figures before holding a free and fair election.

Police said each of the vehicles cost more than 40m taka ($579,710).

“Not only costly vehicles, but they (corruption suspects) are now abandoning deer, peacocks and other wildlife species they possessed illegally,” said Nur Mohammad, Inspector-General of Bangladesh police.

Earlier, police sezed three Hummers and several other vehicles, including a Mercedez-Benz and a Porsche, from the homes of politicians who have been detained or in hiding.

Nearly half of Bangladesh’s more than 140 million people live on less than $1 a day. But the Paris-based watchdog Transparency International rated the impoverished country the world’s most corrupt nation for four consecutive years from 2000.

Security forces have detained more than 160 senior political figures, including 15 former ministers, since Bangladesh imposed a state of emergency on Jan. 11.

Dozens more are being sought, police said. “We are trying to identify the owners of the (abandoned) cars. Once they are identified, we will take legal action against them,” Nur said yesterday. “The cars were imported either through illegal channels without valid documents or without paying due tax,” the police chief added.

Not many Bangladeshis can afford luxury cars, having to settle for a used Toyota or cheaper brands.

Previous governments had allowed lawmakers to import luxury cars without paying any tax, but the law prohibits them from selling or handing over the vehicles to any other person within three years.

Many flouted the law and did not include expensive vehicles in their wealth statements, police said.

Some ex-lawmakers also built zoos in their homes, with animals and birds illegally collected from forests or government-run sanctuaries.

Over the last few days, a crocodile and a python were seized in Dhaka and Chittagong port city, police said.

“All the bad guys are now trying to save their skin. But we are determined to clean the society,” the police chief said.