Victims were allegedly forced into online fraud and held for ransom.
The two arrestees pose for a photograph with CID officials following their arrest in connection with a case involving the trafficking of Bangladeshis to Cambodia. Photo: Courtesy
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The two arrestees pose for a photograph with CID officials following their arrest in connection with a case involving the trafficking of Bangladeshis to Cambodia. Photo: Courtesy
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested two suspected human traffickers for allegedly selling two Bangladeshi men to a scam centre in Cambodia for $5,000, where the victims were forced to carry out online fraud after being lured abroad with promises of good jobs.
The arrestees are Shawon Molla, 23, and Sakib Sarkar, 26. They were arrested during a raid in the capital’s Paltan area today (27 October), the CID said.
Mohammad Sufi Ullah, special superintendent of police (media) at the CID, said the men had been lured to Cambodia with promises of good jobs and financial security.
Their families had each paid around Tk6 lakh to send them abroad, he added.
According to the CID’s preliminary investigation, the men’s passports were taken away after they arrived in Cambodia, and they were forced to carry out online fraud.
They were subjected to physical and mental abuse if they refused to work or made mistakes, Sufi Ullah said.
The men eventually managed to contact their families, after which the traffickers demanded $5,000 for their release, according to the CID. Their families arranged the money to secure their freedom.
However, the men were allegedly taken back under the traffickers’ control even after their release. The families were also made to pay for the men’s return air tickets, the department said.
The men stayed at a local hotel in Cambodia for nearly two months before contacting BRAC Migration Centre online. They returned to Bangladesh on 3 September with assistance, the CID said.
The CID said a case was filed with Paltan Police Station on 26 October under Sections 6, 7, 8, 9 and 22 of the Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Prevention and Suppression Act, 2026.
The two suspects were identified and arrested based on evidence gathered during the investigation and intelligence information. Both have been named in the case statement.
The investigation is continuing to identify others allegedly involved in the trafficking, the CID added.
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