Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) -11 successfully apprehended a fugitive named Osman Gani, alias Tariqul Islam, involved in human trafficking. He was arrested on Tuesday in the Gowaldi area of Sonargaon upazila in Narayanganj.
Osman Gani, who had been using fake identity cards and passports, was tracked down and detained by RAB officials.
The RAB press release highlighted that the arrested individual, Osman Gani, had been using the name Tariqul Islam, also known as Al-Amin, and was residing in the Gowaldi Char area of Sonargaon upazila. It was discovered that Osman Gani had repeatedly changed his name to evade punishment after committing crimes.
According to RAB, Osman Gani’s illicit activities revolved around embezzling cash and luring unsuspecting individuals into going abroad, subsequently selling their properties and land. He, along with his accomplices, enticed innocent people with lucrative job offers and promised to facilitate their migration. However, once the victims had paid large sums of money upfront, Osman Gani would vanish, leaving them trapped in a fraudulent scheme.
Senior ASP (Media Officer) Md. Rizwan Saeed Ziku, representing RAB-11, stated in a press release that the arrested fugitive was a member of an organized human trafficking gang. Osman Gani, who hailed from Barisal's Dhuriyail village, specialized in deceiving people by offering them jobs abroad and then exploiting them financially. One such case involved a victim named Nayan, who was promised employment and regular visits to a cloth shop in Malaysia.
A deal was struck between the defendant and the plaintiff, with the latter sending a total of Tk 3 lakh to an account associated with the smuggling ring. The plaintiff and several others were taken to Kathmandu, Nepal, on October 8, 2022, under the pretense of sending them to Malaysia.
However, instead of fulfilling his promise, Osman Gani sold the plaintiff and others to brokers in Nepal. After enduring nearly a month of inhumane conditions, the victims were eventually assisted by fellow Bangladeshis in returning home. The plaintiff reported the incident to the Barisal Gournadi Model Police Station, leading to a case of human trafficking in 2012.
Following his arrest in the Char Gowaldi area of Sonargaon upazila, Osman Gani has been handed over to the Barisal Gournadi Model Police Station for further legal proceedings.
Meanwhile, a complaint has been filed against Osman Gani by a Bangladeshi expatriate in Malaysia. The complaint alleges that Osman Gani, using the name Md. Tariqul Islam, swindled several expatriate brothers out of thousands of Malaysian ringgits by offering fraudulent work permits, visas, and passports. Due to the falsification of all his personal information, such as name, father's name, mother's name, address, personal number, and date of birth, it had been challenging to apprehend and bring him to justice.
Upon his arrest in 2022, authorities seized Osman Gani's passport, Malaysian driving license, and permanent residency card.