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Published : 24 Feb 2025, 12:19 PM
Italian authorities have arrested two Bangladeshis over their alleged links to a human trafficking ring.
According to a report by prominent Italian newspaper La Repubblica, the suspects have long been involved in trafficking young Bangladeshis to Italy via Libya.
Although local authorities have not officially named them, expatriate Bangladeshis have identified the two men by single names as Habib and his brother Nazrul -- natives of Char Noshona village in Madaripur Sadar Upazila.
The report said that on Feb 2, Nazrul was arrested at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport by nearly 100 members of Italy’s anti-mafia unit upon his return from Bangladesh. His brother Habib, who had come to pick him up, was also taken into custody.
In 2022, several Bangladeshis who arrived in Italy by crossing the Mediterranean accused Nazrul of human trafficking in an Italian court. They claimed that since 2020, Nazrul had been running an organised network that trafficked Bangladeshis to Libya.
The trafficking operation was well-organised. First, young Bangladeshis were sent to Dubai, from where they were smuggled through Syria to Libya's Benghazi. There, they were held hostage by a mafia group.
Meanwhile, Habib allegedly stayed in Bangladesh, extorting ransom from the victims' families. After the payments were made, the victims were sent to Italy by sea with the help of Libyan traffickers.
The trafficking ring reportedly charged about €11,000 (roughly Tk 1.5 million) per person.
Recently, five more young men from Madaripur testified in an Italian court, providing detailed information about Nazrul and Habib. This led Italian law enforcement to launch an investigation, and upon confirming Nazrul’s return to the country, they arrested him at the airport.
Ashif Anam Siddique, first secretary of the Labour Welfare wing at the Bangladesh Embassy in Rome, said, “We’ve heard about the incident, but we have not yet received any official information from the authorities.”
Italian law enforcement has already started analysing the financial transactions and network involved in the trafficking operation. Further details are expected to emerge as the investigation progresses.
