Thirteen Bangladeshi migrant workers have been repatriated from Iran where they were taken hostage for half a month and later rescued by Iranian police.
Alongside these trafficking victims, Saddam, a suspected trafficker, was also repatriated and arrested from the airport by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Police.
The trafficking victims are: Mazharul Islam, Ajgar Ali, Jewel Rana, Ali Ahmed, Didarul Alam, Zakir Sarder, Mohammad Ali, Modasser Majumder, Ali Akbar, Akhter Mia, Wasim Chandra, Aman Ullah and Shaheen Mollah.
With the help of the Bangladeshi embassy in Iran, CID and Rights Jessore repatriated the ill-fated migrants.
Rights Jessore is non-government organisation working for human trafficking victims.
A scheduled flight carrying the migrant workers arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 9:30am on Thursday. Executive Director of Rights Jessore, Binoy Krishno, told the Dhaka Tribune.
Krishno said the migrants were working in Dubai. A section of unscrupulous middlemen lured them, promising lucrative jobs in European countries including Greece.
“The migrants were taken to Iran and kept confined at the Bandar Abbas area of the country,” he added.
Talking to this correspondent, Rubel, brother of Rubel Rana hailed from Jhikorgacha of Jessore, said: “My brother was working as tailor in Dubai for one and half month, and middlemen promised lucrative jobs and took him to Iran”.
“My brother has to pay Tk2,00,000,” he added.
Earlier, a good number of trafficking victims were repatriated from Iran.