Rolling on the ground in overwhelming despair, 40-year-old Mijanur Rahman wept frantically outside the Faridpur District Collectorate office on Wednesday, asking who would bring justice to the criminals that left his life in ruins.
Mijanur, a resident of Phulsuti village in Nagarkanda upazila, is one of dozens of victims broken by an elusive human trafficking syndicate operating out of Libya.
Lured by false promises of passage to Italy, Mijanur was held captive in Libya, subjected to brutal torture, and forced to pay Tk60 lakh in three instalments.
Desperate to survive, he eventually escaped by breaking a window, was apprehended by Libyan police, and returned home this year through the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Mijanur was not alone in his grief.
On Wednesday, families from at least 15 affected households gathered in front of the district collectorate office, forming a human chain to demand the trial of the mafia ring members and the recovery of their extorted money.
The syndicate reportedly extracted nearly Tk4 crore from these 15 families by holding their loved ones hostage in dark Libyan confinement facilities.
At least 11 survivors present at the protest recounted similar terrifying escapes through shattered windows before being picked up by Libyan authorities and repatriated by the IOM. For others, however, the nightmare ended in death or long years of agonising silence.
Among those seeking justice was Taslima Begum, the grieving widow of 40-year-old Habib Matubbar. Habib, son of Salam Matubbar from Jangalpasha village in Bhanga upazila’s Azimnagar union, was trapped by the ring in 2023 under the pretext of being taken to Italy.
The traffickers initially took Tk20 lakh from his family, then locked him in a captive room in Libya and sent horrific videos of his torture to extort a second instalment of Tk10 lakh. When the syndicate demanded a further Tk10 lakh, the impoverished family could no longer pay.
Habib was tortured to death, and his family received the devastating news on 28 February this year. Having sold her husband’s sole asset – a single decimal of land – Taslima now lives in hardship at her father’s house with her three young children.
She broke down in tears, demanding justice for the murder of her husband by ringleader Murad Bepari after her family failed to raise the final ransom sum.
The harrowing reality inside the Libyan torture cell was laid bare by survivor Azizul Islam, son of Shamsuddin Mollya from Darikrishnanagar village in Sadarpur upazila, from whom the ring extorted Tk27 lakh.
Azizul recalled that over 100 people were locked inside the room and starved for three straight days. One night, captors launched a severe beating that killed Habib on the spot.
As the traffickers loaded Habib’s body into a vehicle to dump it in the Mediterranean Sea, Azizul and at least 25 other captives seized the opportunity to break a window and flee.
They sought refuge at the house of a local Libyan, who informed the police. Libyan police subsequently detained them before the IOM facilitated their return to Bangladesh.
For some mothers, the anguish lies in the agonizing absence of any news. Chameli Begum’s 22-year-old son, Al-Amin Matubbar, son of Mostafa Matubbar from Krishnanagar village in Nagarkanda’s Dangi union, went missing after falling into the ring’s hands, which took Tk19 lakh from his family.
Chameli pleaded simply to know the whereabouts of her son, missing now for three and a half years.
Other young men missing for three and a half years after paying massive sums include 20-year-old Shawon Matubbar of Naruhati village (Tk15 lakh extorted) and 20-year-old Mahfuz, son of Sobhan Mollya from Phulsuti village (Tk20 lakh extorted).
While affected families filed police cases regarding the disappearances, they reported that law enforcement has made no arrests. Instead, victims’ families face false counter-cases, harassment, and threats.
Victims identified the mastermind of the trafficking ring as 40-year-old Murad Bepari, son of Mohammad Bepari from Krishnanagar village in Nagarkanda’s Dangi union.
Operating alongside Murad are his 35-year-old wife Tania Akter, 50-year-old Bokul Matubbar of Phulsuti village, 38-year-old Anwar Sheikh and 34-year-old Monir Matubbar from Bareihat village in Bhanga upazila’s Manikdah union, alongside two other associates named Aslam and Shahin.
These local brokers enticed vulnerable villagers with dreams of a prosperous life in Italy before handing them over to Murad’s network in Libya.
To pay the extortion demands, family after family sold off their landed property, gold ornaments, and took on crushing loans.
Among the other returned victims present at the human chain who endured torture and paid astronomical sums were Romjan Sheikh, 35, from Nagarkanda upazila (Tk20 lakh); Aynal Matubbar, 40, Nagarkanda upazila (Tk14 lakh); Rasel Matubbar, 21, Nagarkanda upazila (Tk20 lakh); Salman Pura, 20, Nagarkanda upazila (Tk20 lakh); Yad Ali Matubbar, 39, of Gohailpota village, Dangi union, Nagarkanda upazila (Tk17 lakh); Nazrul Islam Matubbar, 30, Nagarkanda upazila (Tk25 lakh); Faruk Matubbar, 38 of Bhanga upazila (Tk30 lakh); Nasir Sheikh, 42, of Bhanga upazila (Tk35 lakh); and Shamim Sheikh, 40, of Faridpur Sadar (Tk14 lakh).
Protesters disclosed that ringleader Murad Bepari used the extorted funds to construct a luxurious mansion in his ancestral village. With public anger mounting, Murad is currently attempting to sell the residence secretly and flee the country.
Multiple attempts to contact Murad on his Libyan WhatsApp number, as well as phone calls to his associates, went unanswered.
Addressing the situation, Md Shamsul Azam, additional superintendent of police (Crime and Ops) in Faridpur, said that legal action will be taken if victim families lodge formal complaints with the police.
He added that if cases have already been filed, law enforcement will investigate the matter and take appropriate action accordingly.
