Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police has arrested two members of a human trafficking syndicate on charges of trafficking a young man to Libya via Egypt after taking nearly Tk12.67 lakh from him on promise of sending him to Italy, keeping him detained, and subjecting him to physical and mental torture.
The arrestees have been identified as Md Atiqur Rahman Thomas, 32 and Md Badiul Alam Bhuiyan alias Belal, 54.
They were arrested at around 5pm on Monday during an operation conducted in front of Civil Aviation Welfare Market near Ashkona Hajj Camp under Airport Police Station in Dhaka. This information was disclosed in a press release issued by the CID on Tuesday.
According to the CID, the victim, a resident of Senbagh in Noakhali, had worked in Saudi Arabia for nearly three years.
On his way back home, he met a co-passenger on the aircraft, through whom he established contact with members of the human trafficking gang. The syndicate members struck a deal for Tk12 lakh, assuring him of safe passage to Italy via Libya.
As per the agreement, on 5 April, the victim submitted his passport at an office in Ashkona, Dhaka, and paid an advance of Tk1.30 lakh.
On 7 April, he was sent first to New Delhi, India, and from there to Colombo, Sri Lanka. After he spent around 16 days there, the gang collected further amounts of money from his family in phases under various pretexts.
He was subsequently sent to Cairo, Egypt, via Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.
It is alleged that a member of the syndicate took him from Cairo airport to a house and kept him captive for around five days. Citing the previous contract, the gang then demanded an additional $6,000 from him.
A total of approximately Tk12.67 lakh was taken from the victim and his family through cash payments, bKash, and bank accounts.
Thereafter, he was transported from Egypt to Libya by vehicle across rugged desert and mountainous border areas. There, an associate of the gang confined him in a so-called “game room” and allegedly subjected him to physical and mental torture.
Later, Libyan law enforcement agencies carried out an operation, detained the youth along with others, and sent him to prison. The syndicate then demanded a further Tk6 lakh from his family under the pretext of securing his release.
The CID said Libyan police detained him and sent him back to Bangladesh on 16 October 2024. Following his return home, the victim himself filed a case as the plaintiff at Airport Police Station.
After taking over the investigation of the case, the CID verified data, tracked down the location of those involved based on intelligence, and arrested the named accused, Atiqur Rahman Thomas and Badiul Alam Bhuiyan alias Belal.
The two arrestees have been sent to court alongside an application for interrogation. The investigation into the case is currently ongoing.
