Bangladeshi expat YouTuber Elias Hossain arrested by New York police over extortion attempt

Elias Hossain, a Bangladeshi YouTuber living in New York, was arrested by police in Staten Island on Sunday morning.

Hossain, a controversial former journalist, was apprehended based on a wanted notice issued by the 113th Precinct of the New York Police Department, reports bdnews24.com.

He is scheduled to be produced in Queens Criminal Court on Tuesday.

Although police did not reveal the name of the person whom Hossain allegedly threatened, local media in Bangladesh identified him as Jacob Milton in reports from their correspondents in the US.

This development follows offensive videos posted by Elias about Milton's sister, Nira Rabbani, a joint convenor of the BNP's overseas unit in New York State, and her daughter, Prema Rabbani. In response to the videos, the NYPD issued a Desk Appearance Ticket (DAT) to Elias after he surrendered on 1 February. Elias was ordered to appear in court on 21 February.

However, police launched a search operation for him as he continued to post videos with offensive remarks about Nira and Prema. Police had earlier arrested Hossain in November 2022 for behaving roughly with Nira.