4 members of int’l human trafficking ring arrested from Dhaka’s Uttara

Four Bangladeshi members of an international human trafficking ring have been arrested from the capital's Uttara area, according to Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The law enforcers also recovered 26 passports, 19 seals of different embassies, banks and agencies, and 10 fake visas of Cambodia from the arrestees, CID Additional Deputy Inspector General Sheikh Omar Faruque said at a press conference this afternoon.

The arrestees are: Md Habibur Rahman (51), Mamunur Rashid Mamun (41), Md Jamal Hossain (40) and Nahidul Islam Palash.

This gang is active in Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Maldives. They have been operating for long, the additional DIG said. 

Two cases were filed against them at Uttara East Police Station under Human Trafficking Act, 2012 and Passport Act, 1973, he said.

The gang used to recruit people in the name of employment in Malta, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Egypt, Maldives and Cambodia. 

At first, victims were taken to India through land ports on travel visas. Then, the gang collected money from the victims' families.

If the families expressed inability to pay the money, the victims were tortured. After collecting the money, Indian brokers would arrange for them to be sent to Sri Lanka. Then, they were left in forests, Sheikh Omar Faruque said.