The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police has arrested two members of an international human trafficking syndicate for allegedly extorting money and subjecting a Bangladeshi job seeker to severe physical and mental torture after luring him with false promises of sending him to Italy via a perilous clandestine route.
The suspects, identified as Md Atiqur Rahman Tomas, 32, and Md Bodiul Alam Bhuiyan, alias Belal, 54, were apprehended during a targeted raid conducted on Monday afternoon (October 6) in front of the Civil Aviation Welfare Market near the Ashkona Hajj Camp under the capital's Airport Police Station.
According to CID officials, the victim, a resident of Senbagh upazila in Noakhali district, had previously worked in Saudi Arabia for nearly three years. While returning to Bangladesh, he befriended a fellow passenger on a flight, who subsequently introduced him to operatives of the trafficking ring. The syndicate enticed the victim with assurances of secure passage to Italy, finalizing a financial agreement of Tk 1.2 million for the entire journey.
In accordance with the arrangement, the victim submitted his passport at an office in Ashkona on April 5 and paid an advance of Tk 130,000. On April 7, he was flown to New Delhi, India, and subsequently to Colombo, Sri Lanka, where he was stranded for approximately 16 days while the traffickers extracted additional funds from his family under various pretexts. He was later routed through Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, to Cairo, Egypt.
Upon arrival at Cairo airport, an associate of the ring intercepted the victim and confined him to an apartment for five days, coercing him to pay an additional $6,000 US dollars under the guise of the initial agreement. Through cash handovers, mobile financial services via bKash, and bank transfers, the syndicate ultimately amassed a total of Tk 1,267,000 from the victim and his relatives.
The victim was subsequently transported by vehicle across rugged desert and mountainous terrain into Libya, where a local accomplice imprisoned him in a notorious detention facility known as a game room. There, he endured intense physical and psychological abuse until Libyan law enforcement authorities raided the premises and detained him, subsequently sending him to prison. Even while incarcerated abroad, members of the extortion ring contacted his family, demanding an extra Tk 600,000 for his release.
Libyan police eventually deported the victim back to Bangladesh on July 7. Following his return, he filed a human trafficking case at the Airport Police Station on October 5. Upon assuming the investigation, CID analysts utilized digital intelligence and verified data to pinpoint the suspects' whereabouts before executing the arrest. The two detainees have since been produced before a court with a formal petition seeking remand for interrogation as ongoing investigations continue.
