SRB has arrested Mohammad Arju Rahman, a key ringleader of an international human trafficking syndicate that lured Bangladeshi nationals with promises of travel to Italy, only to hold them captive, torture them, and force them into prostitution in Egypt.
Infantry Commander Lt Col Md Hafizur Rahman, commander of SRB-4, disclosed the details during a press conference held on Tuesday at the SRB Media Centre in Karwan Bazar, Dhaka.
He said a joint team of SRB-4 and SRB-1 arrested 47-year-old Mohammad Arju Rahman from C Block in the capital’s Banani area at around 4pm on Monday.
The crackdown began after a victim, Kamrunnahar Fatema, managed to contact National Intelligence Agency (NSI) from Egypt on 16 July this year, revealing that a trafficking network had trapped them in Egypt under the pretext of taking them to Italy.
Following the report, the NSI initiated intelligence tracking on Arju, who was in Egypt at the time. Arju arrived in Bangladesh three to four days ago and was planning to return to Egypt on Thursday, but was apprehended on Monday based on NSI intelligence.
Lt Col Hafizur Rahman explained that Arju took Tk85 lakh from Kamrunnahar Fatema and four other members of her family, promising to send all five to Italy.
Claiming that visas could not be processed from Bangladesh, he first took them to Sri Lanka, where they were subjected to severe torture. Three male members of the family managed to escape from Sri Lanka and returned to Bangladesh.
Of the remaining two female members, Anjuman Ara escaped and is currently hiding somewhere in Sri Lanka, while Kamrunnahar Fatema was taken to Egypt on the pretext that visas could not be processed from Sri Lanka.
In Egypt, she faced severe torture and was forced into immoral activities, including being burned with cigarettes on various parts of her body when she refused to comply.
Interrogation revealed that Arju has been involved in human trafficking for the past 12 years and has lured over 2,000 Bangladeshis abroad under similar false promises.
Since yesterday, around 30 to 35 victims have contacted SRB, and multiple complaints have been filed against him at various police stations across the country.
The SRB official said Arju possessed no valid agency licence and operated using fake names such as “Arju Immigration Limited” and “Nafis Air Immigration Limited” to deceive gullible villagers, promising them entry into Europe before selling them off abroad and forcing them into immoral work.
An inspection of his mobile bank statement revealed transactions exceeding Tk1.70 crore over the past year alone. Emphasising the government’s strict stance against trafficking rings, Lt Col Hafizur Rahman said SRB has arrested 223 individuals between 2025 and 2026.
He added that discussions with relevant authorities are ongoing to repatriate Kamrunnahar Fatema and Anjuman Ara, who detailed their suffering through video messages.
Arju has been handed over to Vatara Police Station for necessary legal action, while operations continue to trace his accomplices.
