Police arrest two fugitives with human trafficking ties

Bangladeshi and Italian police have arrested two fugitives with alleged ties to human trafficking and the killing of migrants in Libya.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 15 Jan 2021, 10:41 AM
Updated : 15 Jan 2021, 10:58 AM

Shahadat Hossain, 29, was arrested at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, said Police Deputy Commissioner Md Shahidullah on Friday.

Meanwhile, 38-year-old Jafor Ekbal, a native of Kishoreganj, was detained by the Italian police. Italy informed Bangladesh about the arrest earlier this month.

The two traffickers were part of a gang of six named in the Interpol’s red notice.

A separate case was filed against Shahadat on charges of trafficking a woman to India, Deputy Commissioner Shahidullah told bdnews24.com. The arrest was made a few days earlier.

He added that the Criminal Investigation Department was investigating the case.

Assistant Inspector General Mohiul Islam, who worked with the Interpol in Dhaka, said Italian police’s National Central Bureau informed them about Jafor’s arrest through a letter on Jan 10.

He added the letter mentioned that Jafor was picked up from Italy’s Cosenza but did not point out when he was arrested. Italian police said that the process of flying Jafor back to the country would be completed in 40 days.

Both of them are accused in a case over the killing of 30 migrants, including 26 Bangladeshis, in a shooting involving a trafficker in Libya in 2020

In November, CID sought Interpol’s assistance in bringing in Jafor, Shahadat, Tanzirul, Shapan, Nazrul Islam Molla and Minto Mia and issued a red notice against them through the international agency.

The CID had filed three cases in Paltan and Banani over the killing, extortion and torture of Bangladeshis in Libya. Apart from this, 23 more cases were filed in parts of the country by the families of the victims.