The group was allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade in the region, an area of 8,080 acres in Remakri near the border with only six BGB outposts.

Because the region is extremely remote and inaccessible from Bangladesh's side of the border, the Arakan Army managed to gain a foothold in the area.

[1] Insurgent groups from Myanmar are often accused of looting the houses of indigenous peoples in Bangladesh, and fueling the drug trade in the border area.

The Arakan Army attacked a ten-member BGB patrol team at Baramadak near the Sangu River, and the gunfire exchange continued for five hours.

[6] Initially, the Arakan Army had surrounded and laid siege to the BGB outpost in Boro Modok; however, the insurgents retreated from the area after Bangladeshi reinforcements arrived.

[10] The Bangladeshi joint forces later arrested a Burmese citizen and accomplice of the Arakan Army, Ong Owong Rakhain, in Rajsthali Upazila.