Hundreds of Bangladeshi fortune seekers have remained captive at the hand of human traffickers for long, according to officers who are probing into the killing 26 Bangladeshi migrants in Libya.
Law enforcers are conducting drives to nab the Bangladeshis involved in trafficking humans and holding them hostage for ransom. They have sought help from Interpol for arresting the traffickers staying abroad.
On May 28 last year, 30 migrants, including 26 Bangladeshi nationals, were killed by the family of a Libyan human trafficker in revenge for his death in the town of Mizdah of Libya, authorities of the North African country said in a statement. Eleven others were injured in the attack.
Twelve cases were filed in Dhaka, Kishoreganj, Madaripur and Magurain in connection with the incident. Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested 15 people in the case until June, 2020.
Investigators in the cases told the media that hundreds of Bangladeshi migrants are languishing at the detention centres of human traffickers. They said the traffickers and their agents collected money from the families of the victims in Bangladesh keeping them hostage.
Law enforcers are talking to the survivors who returned from Libya after paying ransom. They are also preparing a list of missing Bangladeshis.
A high official of CID said that the department filed three cases with Paltan and Banani police stations over the Libya massacre.
CID has been collecting information from the victims and their families. Meanwhile, RAB arrested Hazi Kamal, the ringleader of a human trafficking gang, on June 15 last year in connection with the killing of Bangladeshi in Libya.
On the other hand, a case was filed against a Banani-based overseas company, Bengal Tigers Overseas Ltd, with Banani Police Station for their alleged involvement in human trafficking. Sub Inspector of CID’s Human Trafficking and Vice Squad (Organised Crime) department Kamruzzaman filed the case.
In the case, CID accused 30 named and 60-65 unnamed people of their involvement in human trafficking. Three of the accused were reportedly staying in Egypt, Dubai and Libya.
According to the case statement, among the operatives of the human trafficking ring, there are three brothers, hailing from Noakhali, Rubel Mirza, Nasiruddin Mirza and Ripon Mirza, who impersonated as Good Luck.
The named accused in the case include Bengal Tigers Overseas Ltd owner Julhas Sheikh, Nur Hossain Sheikh, Robi and Iliyas from Madaripur, Jafar and Shawon from Bhairab, Rob Morol from Gopalganj, Hazi Kamal from Kushtia, Bakkar Sarder from Faridpur, Roosevelt Travels Agency Directors Akbar Hossain and Rafiqul Islam Selim, Hossain from Brahmanbaria, Abdur Rahman Touhid from Faridpur, Kazi Sharif from Noakhali, Kazi Ismail Hossain (now staying in Egypt), Saddam Hossain from Kushtia (now in Dubai), Sanatan Das alias Dada from Cumilla, Abdullah (now in Libya), Nazrul from Madaripur, three brothers from Noakhali (Rubel Mirza, Nasiruddin Mirza and Ripon Mirza), Miraz Hawlader, Russell Meer, Razon alias Bullet and Momin from Madaripur, Sharif Hossain, Sohel Panjari and Zakir Mia from Cumilla, and Moktar Mollah from Narail.