Promised Italy, trafficked to Libya: CID arrests two 'human traffickers'
The victim was allegedly taken through India, Sri Lanka, the UAE and Egypt before being held and abused in Libya.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested two alleged members of a human trafficking ring accused of taking a young man to Libya after promising to send him to Italy.
The arrestees are Atikur Rahman Thomas, 32, and Badiul Alam Bhuiyan alias Belal, 54.
CID Special Superintendent (Media) Sufi Ullah confirmed the matter today (6 October).
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
He said the two were arrested around 5pm yesterday in front of the Civil Aviation Welfare Market at Ashkona Haji Camp under Airport Police Station.
According to the CID official, the victim, a resident of Senbagh in Noakhali, had worked in Saudi Arabia for nearly three years. On his way back to Bangladesh, he met a fellow passenger who introduced him to a member of the trafficking ring.
The ring allegedly promised to send the victim safely to Italy via Libya for Tk12 lakh.
The victim deposited his passport at an office in Ashkona on 5 April and paid Tk1.30 lakh in advance, the CID official said.
Two days later, on 7 April, he was sent first to New Delhi and then to Colombo, Sri Lanka. He stayed there for around 16 days, during which the gang allegedly took more money from his family in instalments on various pretexts.
He was then sent to Cairo via Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.
The CID official said a member of the gang took the victim from Cairo airport to a house and kept him there for around five days. The gang later demanded and received another $6,000 from him, citing the previous agreement.
The victim and his family paid around Tk12.67 lakh in total through cash, bKash and bank accounts, according to the CID.
He was then taken by road from Egypt to Libya, crossing remote desert and mountainous border areas.
In Libya, a man identified as an associate of the gang allegedly held the victim in a so-called "game room" and subjected him to physical and mental abuse.
Later, Libyan law enforcement authorities detained the victim along with others during a raid and sent them to prison.
Libyan police sent the victim back to Bangladesh on 7 July.
He later filed a case himself with the Airport Police Station against the two arrested men, according to the CID.
